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Is Electric Battery Storage Overrated As a Clean Technology?

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Is Electric Battery Storage Overrated As a Clean Technology? Environment Is Electric Battery Storage Overrated as a Clean Technology? Thomas N. Russo and Kwangjin “Marcus” Kim reduce carbon dioxide emissions and reduce envi- The United States and the world are undergoing ronmental impacts associated with the lithium-ion an accelerated energy transition with high stakes electric battery supply chain. regarding energy security (i.e., the availability, af- fordability, accessibility, reliability, and acceptabil- CLEAN ENERGY—A RELATIVE TERM ity of energy). Concerns about climate change and Most politicians, academics, environmental greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are dominating groups, and the energy industry tout their favored the debate about which energy technologies are fuel source or technologies as “clean energy” to some politically most acceptable to meet energy needs. degree. Webster’s Dictionary defines “clean energy” Renewable energy, energy efficiency, and electric as energy that is produced through means that do battery storage technologies appear to be the pre- not pollute the atmosphere. Solar, wind, and hydro- ferred technologies. However, we believe the no- power obviously qualify as “clean energy” sources. tion that renewables and electric storage (batter- However, most energy technologies produce some ies) are “clean” has been overstated. This column degree of environmental impacts on land, water, will shed some light on the following: what “clean fish and wildlife, and the atmosphere either during energy” means; the environmental impacts of operation or extracting fuels, minerals, and prod- lithium-ion batteries; and what governments and ucts that are components of the technology. Even electric vehicle and battery companies must do to energy efficiency has some degree of environmental impact, as foam insulation is derived from petro- chemicals that come from natural gas. Thomas N. Russo ([email protected]) is an energy and environmental expert with unique regula- tory knowledge of energy infrastructure, environmen- Most energy technologies produce some degree of tal impact assessment, markets, and physical/cyber- environmental impacts on land, water, fsh and wild- security. Prior to starting Russo on Energy LLC, he worked for over 30 years as a manager and senior life, and the atmosphere either during operation or energy industry analyst at the Federal Energy Regu- extracting fuels, minerals, and products that are com- latory Commission. There, he gained experience in ponents of the technology. hydropower licensing, National Environmental Policy Act environmental impact assessment of projects, business process reengineering, natural gas and crude oil market oversight, and applicable federal statutes. Kwangjin “Marcus” Kim is a recent gradu- Rather than succumbing to the sirens of “clean ate of the George Washington University School of energy,” we simply acknowledge that every energy Business in Washington, DC, and resides in Seoul, Korea. He can be contacted at marcus.kjkim@yahoo. technology has environmental impacts and chal- com or (+82) 10-4954-7067. lenges that must be effectively addressed, particularly if you consider such impacts over the technologies’ NOVEMBER 2019 NATURAL GAS & ELECTRICITY DOI 10.1002/gas.22145 / © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 21 life cycle. For example, bird and bat mortality in- best poised for growth is the lithium-ion battery. creases with the growth of onshore wind farms. Prices have plunged 85 percent since 2010,3 and Likewise, the construction of submarine power lines its demand is forecasted to grow 32 percent an- to move power from offshore wind farms to land nually, increasing from 80 gigawatt hours (GWh) might cause an adverse impact on marine life dur- in 2016 to 2,300 GWh in 2030, mainly fueled by ing construction. Even closed-loop pumped storage the increasing demand for electric vehicles (EVs) projects, which are gaining public support as sustain- (Figure 1).4 able energy storage projects in the Pacific Northwest, may cause some degree of negative environmental impacts to terrestrial resources, although they don’t The capacity to store energy offers an exciting view of affect free-flowing rivers and lakes.1 Whether or not the future, in which efforts to reduce carbon dioxide an energy technology is acceptable is a more impor- emissions get a boost with easier integration of re- tant question for each country and region. newables into the grid. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF STORAGE SYSTEMS Growth in battery use for utility-scale storage The capacity to store energy offers an excit- would mean more integration of renewable en- ing view of the future, in which efforts to reduce ergy, and in turn less dependence on fossil-fuel carbon dioxide emissions get a boost with easier power plants. Growth in electric vehicles (EVs) integration of renewables into the grid. However, would mean that cars would no longer need in order for this vision to materialize in a way that gasoline and diesel fuel. As such, lithium-ion minimizes negative externalities, the potential con- batteries will undoubtedly play a significant role sequences entailed with a growth in electric storage in transitioning away from fossil fuels in trans- systems must be identified to inform policymakers. portation. However, they also bring with them a Although 99 percent of the current worldwide host of environmental challenges that will only electric storage capacity comes from pumped- 2 storage hydropower facilities, the technology 3 Baker, D. (2019, April 3). Battery reality: Tere’s nothing bet- ter than lithium-ion coming soon. Bloomberg. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-03/battery- 1 Russo, T. N. (2019). Pumped storage hydro: Reliable choice for the reality-there-s-nothing-better-than-lithium-ion-coming-soon. new electric storage era. Natural Gas & Electricity, 36(2), 25–32. 4 Campagnol, N., Eddy, J., Hagenbruch, T., Klip, D., Mulligan, C., 2 Deutsche Energie-Agentur. (n.d.). Pumped-storage integrates re- & van De Staaij, J. (n.d.). Metal mining constraints on the elec- newable energy into the grid. Retrieved from https://www.dena. tric mobility horizon. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved from de/en/topics-projects/energy-systems/flexibility-and-storage/ https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/oil-and-gas/our-insights/ pumped-storage/. metal-mining-constraints-on-the-electric-mobility-horizon. Figure 1. Annual Lithium Battery Growth by End Use 22 © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. / DOI 10.1002/gas NATURAL GAS & ELECTRICITY NOVEMBER 2019 be amplified with this growth in battery demand. Lithium We highlight the environmental challenges re- Australia and Chile are the two largest producers of lated to the three phases of a lithium-ion battery’s lithium, jointly comprising 75 percent of total supply life cycle: mining and production, deployment (Figure 2). However, miners in these two countries and usage, and recycling and disposal. use different methods to extract the lithium from the ground. For example, in Australia, mining for MINING AND PRODUCTION PHASE lithium resembles traditional hard rock ore mining, a There are multiple natural elements needed to process that requires significant energy consumption manufacture a lithium-ion battery. Four of the and generates CO2 emissions and chemical waste most important elements are lithium, cobalt, such as sulfuric acid, which contaminates the sur- nickel, and graphite.5 These rare earth metals are rounding environment. In Chile, brines containing found largely outside of the United States. If lith- lithium are pumped from underground reservoirs to ium-ion battery growth accelerates, the United evaporation ponds, where they are then left out in States will have to import large quantities of the the sun to be dried and concentrated. This process re- metals from China, and the Democratic Republic quires large volumes of water, and disputes with local of the Congo. The elements, or metals, exist as raw communities are common, given that these sites are materials that have to be mined from the ground. located in arid deserts where water is scarce. Methods From a purely environmental perspective, the act that use less water would lead to less conflict, and are of mining is a naturally dirty process, not to men- being developed. An additional source of frustration tion the sheer amount of land that needs to be for these affected communities is that stakeholder cleared. It is an energy-intensive process carried engagement by mining company representatives and out by gigantic machinery that generates GHG government officials has been very poor. This has led emissions and pollutes the surrounding air and to discontent and a sense that their ancestral lands are water. This is further compounded by conflicts being exploited by outsiders, with not much for them with local communities and inadequate working to gain from the bargain.6 conditions. These challenges are explained in the Currently, Argentina and China produce ap- context of each metal below. proximately 20 percent of the global supply of 5 Öko-Institut. (2018, March 8). Ensuring a sustainable supply of raw materials for electric vehicles. Agora Verkehrswende. Retrieved from 6 Frankel, T., & Whoriskey, P. (2016, December 19). Tossed aside https://www.agora-verkehrswende.de/fleadmin/Projekte/2017/ in the ‘white gold’ rush. Te Washington Post. Retrieved from Nachhaltige_Rohstoffversorgung_Elektromobilitaet/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/business/batteries/ Agora_Verkehrswende_Rohstofestrategien_EN_WEB.pdf. tossed-aside-in-the-lithium-rush/. Figure
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