Copper in renewable energy

Renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, tidal, hydro, biomass, and geothermal have become significant sectors of the energy market. The rapid growth of these sources in the 21st century has been prompted by increasing costs of fossil fuels as well as their environmental impact issues that significantly lowered their use. Copper plays an important role in these renewable energy systems. Copper usage averages up to five times more in renewable energy systems than in traditional power generation, such as fossil fuel and nuclear power plants. Since copper is an excellent thermal and electrical conductor among engineering metals (second only to silver), electrical systems that utilize copper generate and transmit energy with high efficiency and with minimum environmental impacts. When choosing electrical conductors, facility planners and engineers factor capital investment costs of materials against operational savings due to their electrical energy efficiencies over their useful lives, plus maintenance costs. Copper often fares well in these calculations. A factor called "copper usage intensity,” is a measure of the quantity of copper necessary to install one megawatt of new power-generating capacity. When planning for a new renewable power facility, engineers and product specifiers seek to avoid supply shortages of selected materials. According to the United States Geological Survey, in-ground copper reserves have increased more than 700% since 1950, from almost 100 million tonnes to 720 million tonnes in 2017, despite the fact that world refined usage has more than tripled in the last 50 years. Copper resources are estimated to exceed 5,000 million tonnes. Bolstering the supply from copper extraction is the more than 30 percent of copper installed from 2007 to 2017 that came from recycled sources. Its recycling rate is higher than any other metal. This article discusses the role of copper in various renewable energy generation systems. The majority of copper usage, worldwide, is for electrical wiring, including the coils of generators and motors.