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03InDuSTRy TRenDS Sidebar 3. SuSTaInabIlITy SPOTlIGhT: RaRe-eaRTh MIneRalS anD PV ReCyClInG As renewable energy markets and industries continue to expand, so does their use of raw materials. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that clean energy technologies (which include PV cells, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and fluorescent lighting) now account for approximately 20% of the global consumption of “critical materials,” including the rare-earth elementsI and other key elements such as indium, gallium, tel- lurium, cobalt, and lithium. been echoed in the European Union, South Korea, and Japan, as well as in private industry, where a number of firms are developing ferrite magnets to replace magnets based on rare-earths such as neodymium. In addition, the U.S. government is investing $35 million in the development of batteries free of rare-earth elements, with similar programs under way in Japan, the EU, and South Korea. In the long term, public and private nanotechnology research programs are looking to use nano-composites to reduce the rare-earth content of permanent magnets. Rising demand has exposed uncertainties in the supply chains of these materials, which are critical in the manufacture of both PV films as well as the permanent magnets and batteries used in wind turbines and electric vehicles. China, which possesses roughly 36% of the world’s rare-earth deposits, currently produces around 97% of the global supply. It is projected to fall short of meeting the annual 10–15% growth in rare- earth demand within two to three years. At the other end of the product life-cycle, burgeon- ing production, operation, and decommissioning processes have highlighted growing environmental and materials issues. In the solar PV sector in par- ticular, questions about material and energy flows, environmental impacts, and the reprocessing of used components have become increasingly central. With total installed global solar PV capacity increasing by seven times between 2005 and 2010, these practices have come under greater scrutiny, driving innovations in efficient manufacturing, new production equipment, recycling of process-water and other resources, and the on-site generation of renewable process energy. China also is implementing more stringent controls over its formerly under-regulated rare-earths industry, exacerbating uncertainties in global supplies. Citing concerns over environmental impacts and overexpan- sion, the government cut rare-earth exports 72% in early 2010 and a further 11% in the first half of 2011. It also introduced tough pollution controls in late 2010 that are likely to further restrict rare-earth extraction and processing. Of growing importance is the recycling of solar panels that have reached the end of their service life. While current quantities of disused PV modules remain too small to fully support an extensive recycling operation, it is predicted that around 130,000 tonnes of end-of- life PV panels will be ready for disposal in Europe by 2030. As a result, 2010 saw price increases of 300–700% for various rare-earth elements. Policymakers have responded with a variety of measures aimed at stabilizing the rare-earth risk. Some countries, such as Japan, are actively supporting the expansion of rare earth mining activities beyond their own borders while also investing in stockpiles of strategic minerals. Others are developing their own reserves: in Canada alone, 26 companies are involved in exploration, and rare-earth mines are expected to come on line soon in Australia, the United States, Canada, South Africa, and Kazakhstan. In anticipation of this, the PV industry has launched initiatives such as the “Solar Scorecard” operated by the nonprofit Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, which ranks the overall environmental impact of numerous solar manufacturers. In Europe, a network of recycling depots and collectors for end-of-life solar PV panels has been established by the organization PV Cycle. By March 2011, the group had recorded the collection of around 150 tonnes of end-of-life PV modules, many The U.S. government has allocated $15 million for R&D on rare-earth elements and for the development of substitutes for rare-earth magnets. These efforts have of which are now in various stages of the recycling process. Source: See Endnote 37 for this section. I) The “rare earths” are a group of 17 elements that exhibit unique catalytic, magnetic and optical properties. They include scandium, yttrium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, hol- mium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and lutetium. 42PDF Image | GLOBAL STATUS REPORT Renewables 2011
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