Long thread, but very much worth reading. https://t.co/ay11EaI7F5

— Brit Hume (@brithume) July 3, 2022

It will involve building a LOT more infrastructure: wind turbines and solar panels, high voltage cabling and energy storage.
In crazy quantities.
Because a) these power sources are less energy-dense than fossil fuels and b) the logic of net zero is to electrify EVERYTHING.

— Ed Conway (@EdConwaySky) July 2, 2022

But also, you need crazy amounts of copper.
Imagine a moderately big turbine, capable of turning out about one megawatt of power (so actually smaller than the mega one in the pic).
You need about three tonnes of copper in the generator and another tonne in the transformer... pic.twitter.com/jmsrMM0h2s

— Ed Conway (@EdConwaySky) July 2, 2022

There's more: copper at the substation where the power arrives; copper in the distribution cables connecting it to the grid... Tot it all up and according to @WoodMackenzie you're talking about roughly 15 tonnes of copper per megawatt generated.
And we need LOADS of these! pic.twitter.com/y3p6ISPdKQ

— Ed Conway (@EdConwaySky) July 2, 2022

We don't think about this all that much because copper is, as far as most of us are concerned, invisible. Yet it's already a massive part of our lives, since without copper there is no electricity. But suddenly, now we're electrifying EVERYTHING, we need much, much more.

— Ed Conway (@EdConwaySky) July 2, 2022

We don't think about this all that much because copper is, as far as most of us are concerned, invisible. Yet it's already a massive part of our lives, since without copper there is no electricity. But suddenly, now we're electrifying EVERYTHING, we need much, much more.

— Ed Conway (@EdConwaySky) July 2, 2022

They just shut down a copper smelter in Ventanas because it had caused so much pollution that the local area had been designated a "sacrifice zone". There are other such zones around the country. It's a big issue in Chile. https://t.co/PEdccRqRXk

— Ed Conway (@EdConwaySky) July 2, 2022

So even as the rest of world looks to Chile for the crucial material upon which its net zero ambitions depend, Chile is thinking long and hard about restrictions: more environmental rules, bans on mining near glaciers. And this is doubly significant given it's not just copper...

— Ed Conway (@EdConwaySky) July 2, 2022

So where does the lithium come from? In Chile's case from under the Salar de Atacama. This place 👇An enormous salt flat which looks extraordinary. But even more extraordinary is what lies beneath that salt - a great underground reservoir of brine, concentrated salt solution https://t.co/LawXzEoXcX

— Ed Conway (@EdConwaySky) July 2, 2022

Problem is: this is one of the driest places on the planet. Locals say lithium miners are taking their water. SQM et al have convincing arguments that they don't. But even so, this is an incredibly sensitive environment. Some, eg @criordor, say local ecosystems are being harmed.

— Ed Conway (@EdConwaySky) July 2, 2022

The problem is that while there are clearly impacts from this type of brine mining, the other type of lithium mining - getting it from spodumene in Australia - involves considerably more water use and carbon emissions. It's more like conventional, dirty mining. Look: pic.twitter.com/15CS1HfqxT

— Ed Conway (@EdConwaySky) July 2, 2022

Anyway, this is a v long-winded way of saying: please watch my film abt this.
I've left pretty much all the detail from the film out of this thread because I'd much prefer you watch it, cos a) we've been working on this for a while & b) I promise you'll enjoy it.
Wee preview: pic.twitter.com/7UV27WLypa

— Ed Conway (@EdConwaySky) July 2, 2022

Final thing: I was also in Chile researching my forthcoming book, MATERIAL WORLD.
📖 It'll touch on all this stuff - & go into more detail.
🪨Fascinating nuggets aplenty.
If u enjoy this kind of thing, do check it out.
Erm, when I've finished it.🫣
Out next year all being well...

— Ed Conway (@EdConwaySky) July 2, 2022