"The United States, Canada and Australia are truly the lucky countries because they have their own supply of fossil fuels and very little import dependence. For them, transitioning to renewables doesn’t reduce geopolitical dependency but may increase it."
Curious as to why you think it might increase geopolitical risk?
It increases it because the energy transition means they have to import more metals and other commodities from China or factories controlled by China. It's not just rare earth metals. At the moment, we need graphite for every battery that is produced, but 80% of graphite mines are controlled by China and 100% of graphite refineries are controlled by China.
Good article but the name "transition metals" is nothing to do with the energy transition, it's named after the transition from elements with one full shell of electrons to a new electron shell
Myth: Solar and wind are helping save our grid from extreme heat.
Truth: Preferences for Solar and Wind have made our grid embarrassingly vulnerable to heat waves—and cold snaps—that a fossil-fueled grid could easily manage.
"The United States, Canada and Australia are truly the lucky countries because they have their own supply of fossil fuels and very little import dependence. For them, transitioning to renewables doesn’t reduce geopolitical dependency but may increase it."
Curious as to why you think it might increase geopolitical risk?
It increases it because the energy transition means they have to import more metals and other commodities from China or factories controlled by China. It's not just rare earth metals. At the moment, we need graphite for every battery that is produced, but 80% of graphite mines are controlled by China and 100% of graphite refineries are controlled by China.
Good article but the name "transition metals" is nothing to do with the energy transition, it's named after the transition from elements with one full shell of electrons to a new electron shell
Oh, I apologise.
I didn't know.
Myth: Solar and wind are helping save our grid from extreme heat.
Truth: Preferences for Solar and Wind have made our grid embarrassingly vulnerable to heat waves—and cold snaps—that a fossil-fueled grid could easily manage.
https://open.substack.com/pub/alexepstein/p/myth-solar-and-wind-are-helping-save