Re:Why did renewables become so cheap so fast?
by TuringTest on Thursday December 03, 2020 @10:40AM
(#25289876)
Heating and cooling, OK. Cars require batteries, and there's not enough lithium to support as many electric cars as there exist combustion engine cars now. A breaktrhough will be needed, either in battery tech or shared transportation (either public transport, car-sharing, or generalized telecommuting).
Re:Why did renewables become so cheap so fast?
by Retric on Thursday December 03, 2020 @11:04AM
(#25290217)
There is plenty of lithium for EV’s. Existing mines are enough for ~1 billion cars, however raw lithium is currently well under 1% of the cost of a new Tesla so vastly more expensive mining options don’t really effect the economics much. The minimal amount of recycling would change dramatically as lithium prices increase.
PS: “battery grade” lithium is more expensive, but what changes isn’t the amount of lithium but removal of minor impurities.
Also, solar power overwhelmingly our largest energy source. It’s generally ignored in these calculations but farms for example are very dependent on sunlight.