Remove Clean Energy Remove Recycling Remove Wind Power
article thumbnail

Want Clean Energy? Then You Also Want Battery Recycling.

Union of Concerned Scientists

Increasing the reuse and recycling of batteries at their end of life is essential to increasing the sustainability of batteries and creating a circular economy. Recycling must ramp up. There are huge opportunities for recycling to decrease the need for newly mined materials in batteries. Source: Courtesy of Li-Cycle.

Recycling 299
article thumbnail

How Are Lithium-ion Batteries that Store Solar and Wind Power Made?

Union of Concerned Scientists

Once the battery looks up to code, it is off to the grid to power our renewable energy future! Battery energy storage is powerful and growing. Battery energy storage can help store clean energy for the grid. Can they be reused or recycled at the end of their life? Want Clean Energy?

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

What Happens to Wind Turbine Blades at the End of Their Life Cycle?

Union of Concerned Scientists

Blades are made mainly of carbon fiber, fiberglass, and balsa wood and the wind industry drives a significant portion of global demand for these materials: 10% of world demand for fiberglass and 24% for carbon fiber come from wind turbines. Can wind turbine blades be recycled? Source: Firdaus Latif/Wikimedia Commons.

Recycling 326
article thumbnail

Challenges and Opportunities in Mining Materials for Energy Storage Lithium-ion Batteries

Union of Concerned Scientists

Batteries are key to enabling the renewable energy transition. When the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing, batteries help store clean energy to continue supplying electricity to the grid and to customers consistently and reliably. Energy from the sun and wind never runs out and is used again and again.

article thumbnail

Just and Sustainable Solutions for the Mining and Recycling of Rare Earth Elements in Wind Turbines

Union of Concerned Scientists

The wind is in our sails on the voyage towards a clean energy future. Wind energy is currently the largest renewable energy source in the US, and the industry is growing fast. Recycling rare earth elements. Supporting rare earth element recycling. Workers in a mine shaft in Bawsaing, Myanmar.

Recycling 147
article thumbnail

DOE Proposes to Expand the Fast-Track Lane for Certain Clean Energy Projects–But Excludes Wind

Law Columbia

DOE is also proposing to replace the current language concerning the “removal of solar PV systems” with new language about “decommissioning of solar PV systems” in order to reach actions (such as recycling) that occur during the decommissioning process.

article thumbnail

Op-ed: We can grow the economy, strengthen security — and reduce emissions

Cresforum

In the Unites States’ march to transition to clean energy and reduce greenhouse gasses, resilience may be the most important word to summarize 2021. Nine months after the pandemic first upended lives and the economy, the market fundamentals for clean energy looked unstoppable. percent and energy use rebounded by only 4.3