Chapter 24

Global Rare Earth Supply, Life Cycle Assessment, and Wind Energy

Zhehan Weng1,2, Gavin M. Mudd1,    1Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia,    2Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium    Email: 2Zhehan.Weng@UGent.be

Abstract

Wind energy has become one of the most significant sectors in global renewable energy market. This chapter analyses the global rare earth elements (REE) demands and associated environmental implications driven from the rapid growing global wind energy demands. The NdFeB permanent magnet demand from wind turbines is a valuable case study to underpin and evaluate the environmental benefits of REE consumption and wind energy growth, as both of them are key areas of expected global clean energy supply and critical metal ...

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