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Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal Could Be A Huge Boon For China. Here’s How

https://dailycaller.com/2019/04/05/green-new-deal-china-energy/

  • Plans like the Green New Deal could end up making the U.S. more dependent on China, according to reports.
  • A new study found the U.S. would need to import more rare earth minerals from China to build more offshore wind turbines.
  • “These demands would total over 15.5 [gigagrams] of neodymium by 2050,” reads the study.

A new study underscores a longstanding concern about sweeping plans, like the Green New Deal, to increase renewable energy use in America: dependency on China.

The study, published in the journal Nature Sustainability and highlighted in a Friday E&E News report, found that plans to ramp up offshore wind energy production will require huge amounts of rare earth minerals produced in China.

“These demands would total over 15.5 [gigagrams] of neodymium by 2050, of which 20% could potentially be avoided by circular usage from decommissioned turbines but only if recycling technologies are developed or, better still, magnets are designed for reuse,” the study found.

Experts say neodymium is a key mineral for large-scale offshore wind turbine development, which need to be more reliable than their onshore counterparts. It’s also used in electric cars and other technologies.

However, the “current supply dominated by a single country, China,” the study noted, which could increase U.S. energy dependency on foreign countries, including China, should a plan, like the Green New Deal, ever be put into action.

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