The so-called green shift requires unimaginable amounts of minerals, electricity, water and land. We have been fooled into thinking that everything that can be electrified and digitalized is part of the green transition. The fact is that digitalization that seems green in our part of the world is a disaster elsewhere. A disaster for the people who live there, and the environment they are a part of.
Wind turbines are something that many people believe is sustainable, and thus part of the green shift, as it gives us green energy. But the fact is that windmills are a bit of a mess for both the environment and people, especially indigenous people and other people we don’t care about. The mills at Fosen in Norway are still standing!
Most people who have seen windmills on the horizon see a horrific sight that no one wants in their own backyard, many municipalities in Norway have already decided to say no to windmills, and that’s a good thing! On land, giant turbines can literally slow down the wind, create turbulence and change local climatic conditions. At sea, the effect is even more dramatic: Offshore wind farms reduce the wind load on the ocean surface, which weakens the upwelling of nutrient-rich water. This can disrupt the entire food chain, according to studies along the California coast.
Noise is another problem. The construction of offshore wind farms emits intense low-frequency sound pollution into the water. A study published by the University of Bergen shows that this noise changes the metabolism and behaviour of scallops, fish and large parts of the ecosystem. Other reports show that the sound weakens the scallops’ ability to protect themselves from predators, which can lead to further disruptions throughout the food chain.
The materials used to protect wind turbines from corrosion leach into the surrounding water, which could pose risks to ecosystems, seafood safety and human health, new research from the University of Portsmouth has found.
Offshore wind farms release thousands of tonnes of metals such as aluminium, zinc and indium each year. This is expected to grow dramatically as wind farms are set to play a major role in reducing the world’s carbon emissions. Scientists at University of Portsmouth as issued this alarming report.
Mineral madness
The extraction and production of wind turbines require enormous amounts of raw materials.
According to Adrien Concordel (Illuminem), it takes approximately; (to produce 1 gigawatt):
• 120,000 tons of steel
• 5,000 tons of nickel
• 1,500 tons of copper
• and almost 300 tons of rare earth metals (such as Neodymium, Cobalt and Dysprosium)
1 gigawatt – corresponds to approx. 0.5% of Norway’s total electricity consumption. The madness is hereby documented.
Behind these figures hides another dark truth:
- To extract one ton of rare earth metals, up to 2,000 tons of toxic waste can be created – some of it radioactive.
- This means that each gigawatt of wind power can leave behind around 600,000 tons of toxic waste, of which a significant proportion is radioactive.
- This waste is often dumped in countries such as war-torn Myanmar. So far away from us who will use the electricity.
- Extracting one ton of copper produces up to 180 tons of toxic waste. For one gigawatt of wind power, there is an additional approx. 270,000 tons of toxic waste.
A single wind turbine also requires almost 1,000 tons of concrete – which is extremely energy-intensive to produce.
If we only measure CO₂ emissions during use, wind power may appear “green”. But when we include the entire life cycle – extraction, production, transport and disposal of toxic waste – the math becomes much more complicated. The environmental price is often paid by the most vulnerable countries and communities, far removed from those who benefit from the electricity.
What can we do:
• Stop believing that all digitalization is green
• Look at how we can reduce energy consumption, as all electricity production requires resources.
• Consider alternatives, which has a much lower material and waste load per kilowatt produced.
Alternatives could be (but limited to):
- Geothermal energy
- Mechanical Powerplant
- Nuclear Power