How clean is clean energy?

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Clean energy. Over the past decade, this term has become universal when
describing the future of the energy industry and what is needed to combat
climate change. Our communities, our country and our world need to move to
cleaner sources of energy — such as solar, wind, geothermal, and hydro —
that do not emit pollutants into the air and adversely affect climate
change. However, there are questions and concerns around the manufacturing
processes for products like solar panels and wind turbines, how electric
vehicle (EV) batteries are produced and how these items will be recycled
once decommissioned. These concerns and potential issues raise a bigger
question: How clean is clean energy?

What is considered clean energy?
Clean energy is generally defined as energy that emits a minimal amount of
or no contaminants and pollutants into the atmosphere, soil and water.
Some well-known examples of clean energy generation include solar energy,
wind energy, geothermal, biomass and hydropower. These energy sources all
use natural, renewable elements to generate power with no emissions or, in
the case of biomass, net zero emissions. According to the U.S. Energy
Information Administration, clean energy sources are gaining traction in
the United States — representing nearly 13% of total energy consumption as
depicted in the figure below.

https://www.leidos.com/sites/leidos/files/styles/scale_narrow/public/eia-
chart-energy-sources.png?itok=Ey2BUMj3

U.S. energy consumption by source, 2021, US EIA
The dirty challenges
Despite the best intentions of the clean energy movement, there is still a
great deal of work to do to make these energy sources cleaner from cradle
to grave. China is the world’s dominant manufacturer of solar panels and
uses electricity from coal-burning power plants to support the silicon,
wafer, cell and panel manufacturing processes. The rapid increase in
demand for solar panel installations over the past several years has
forced these manufacturers to ramp up production — thereby also increasing
electricity consumption and carbon emissions. And for wind turbine
manufacturing, the production process has the potential to emit hazardous
air pollutants such as xylene and ethyl benzene as well as volatile
organic compounds into the atmosphere.

EVs provide a path towards reducing the emission impacts of the
transportation sector, but they currently carry a significant
environmental burden. According to a study from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology Energy Initiative, EV battery production generates
more emissions than those produced for internal combustion engine vehicles
— an initial emissions debt with EVs. Additionally, other concerns
surrounding EV battery manufacturing include cobalt mining labor
practices, the environmental impacts of the lithium extraction process and
the potential toxic waste from the disposal of end-of-life batteries.

Recycling is another challenge as the United States and other countries
strive towards clean energy sources and net zero goals. According to the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, wind turbine blade waste is
anticipated to amount to approximately 2.2 million tons or more by 2050 —
equivalent to the weight of over six Empire State Buildings in New York
City. Currently, there are no existing cost-effective recycling methods
for wind turbine blades, so blades reaching their end of life are
landfilled. Solar panels face similar recycling challenges.

Shifting to the transportation sector, just 5% of EV batteries are
currently recycled according to 2019 data from the U.S. Department of
Energy. While battery recycling has likely improved over the past two to
three years, it is safe to assume there is still a sizable recycling lag
given the rapid rise in EV sales. Limited raw materials and regulatory
policies may force EV manufacturers and other industry stakeholders to
build the necessary recycling infrastructure and technologies.

https://www.leidos.com/insights/how-clean-clean-energy