Green - the primary source of electricity – Is it possible?

Climate deterioration requires innovative methods to mitigate the effects, and recent reports find the use of mining metals for batteries has been posing dangers to global biodiversity. 

This has created a need for responsible mining operations, recycling, and reusing material used in batteries. Aluminium and bauxite are the key metals extracted through mining and are used as components in all renewable technologies. 

The serious impact of bauxite mining has been reported in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Guinea.  Several forests on the mining sites host endangered wildlife populations, and rare earth operations pose serious problems for several species.

 Nickel mines in Indonesia are used to get metal for EV batteries, but the regions like Sulawesi are creating environmental degradation. 

Lithium is mostly found in the Lithium triangle that sits between Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia, and these are the world’s largest biodiversity hotspots. 

Experts say there is a need for recycling to prevent mining from reducing the demand for such metals. Also, environmentally conscious buyers have an impact on such practices, who can take initiatives to promote the recycling of metals found in tablets and cell phones. 

Progress in Global Green Energies 

The power produced on green technologies is based on the green - the primary source of electricity – Is it possible? Which does not involve combustion but has a few conversions. 

The motors are simple engines having a few moving parts and can provide higher efficiency at a lower cost. Such systems can be integrated effectively with grid operations and create efficient systems.  

Countries running on these systems will not pollute the environment because the waste produced is low (but not zero). 

There are some rebound effects of such technologies where most of the countries aim to tackle climate issues by promoting investment in the power generation sector that is not the only area responsible for the generation of carbon. 

About 100 cities across the world are completely dependent on the green, and the demand in the area continues to grow, and the contribution has increased, but there is huge scope for growth. 

A recent report finds subsidies are slowing progress in the sector. The energy intensity decline rate is just 0.4 per cent, which should be 4 to 10 per cent a year, to provide effective development. 

Transportation, cooling, and heating requirements of the growing population continue to create pressure.  

Fossils continue to dominate 

China’s aggressive EV policies led to an increase in electric passenger vehicles by 63 per cent in 2017. Although major developments have been made in many areas, the energy produced by fossils continue to contribute 73 per cent that is more than half of total energy, and green contributes about one-fourth - 26 per cent, where hydropower accounts for 16 per cent of total output and more than 50 per cent of the total renewable output globally.  

There are many speculations in the sector where some do not believe in the ability of such technological developments in tackling climate issues. Some suspect, if it is even possible. 

However, technological developments and government policies can create the pathway for faster growth in the sector, and there exists a huge scope for research in this area needed to promote better ways of zero-carbon implementation.