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Dear Editor;
All the Green New Deal (GDN) fantasies about onshore and offshore wind turbines, huge industrial solar fields, battery storage, and electric vehicles with the infrastructure of charging stations are just that-fantasies. Beyond the wish, there is no thought about the logistics involved.
One critical logistical problem with the GND fantasy is the availability of the metals needed for production. Precious (rare earth) and basic metals used in construction of these fantasies are increasing in price, with lithium metal having increased about 500% just this year. It is increasingly more difficult to mine and produce these metals because of rising energy costs and lower grade ore. The Copper Alliance says that it takes 5.5 tons of copper for each megawatt (MW) of renewable energy. Each 650-foot, 5.6 MW turbine that Pattern's Uplands project dreams of installing would consume 11,200 pounds of copper! Multiply that times 173 wind turbines for Uplands or the many thousands of wind turbines the federal government wants to put in the ocean off the Eastern seaboard where they will destroy commercial fishing. Stockpiles of all these metals have fallen to record lows, while demand is still increasing, even before gearing up for the coming GND energy transition.
The main supply for these precious metals comes from our enemies: Russia and China. Because of the Ukraine-Russia war, the supply from Russia is no longer available; and we must ask, is the supply from China reliable? Mining in the USA and Europe will not happen because of insurmountable environmental constraints. Areas in foreign countries where these metals are mined and refined are devastated and permanently polluted.
The Golden Age of the wind, solar, and electric vehicle GND energy transition is over before it even begins. If only the clowns in the federal, state, and local governments will realize this before throwing our tax dollars into the wind (pun intended) and destroying our environment and economy in the process.
George A. Schwarzmann Jr.
(Turbine Buster)
Belmont Township, WI