Resumen de Clean technology: : A green lining for industrial minerals?
Offshore wind farms in the North Sea and China were among the largest projects funded in 2015. In Europe, the 580MW Race Bank project cost $2.9bn, the 336MW Galloper project cost $2.3bn and the 402MW Veja Mate project cost $2.1bn. China's Longyuan Haian Jiangjiasha and Datang & Jiangsu Binhai, both 300MW developments, cost $850m apiece.
Rare earths are used to make magnets for wind turbines, some electric vehicle (EV) motors and are even used to make "green" tyres for cars. Graphite and lithium, as well as cobalt, are the main raw material inputs to lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, which are used to power EVs and energy storage systems.
US geological journal, the National Geographic, citing US government data, said that since 2008, prices have fallen 60% for large scale solar projects and 40% for wind projects. It quoted Alex Klein, senior director of renewables at IHS Energy, describing solar and wind energy as being "competitive in many countries", notably against natural gas, used to power energy producing plants.
