Renewable Energy
Copper and its alloys have been a part of renewable and other green energy systems for many years. As the world begins to focus more attention on renewable energy sources, copper will continue to play an important role.
Copper helps make wind energy possible and is essential to powering solar PV systems, the two fastest growing energy sources today.
Wind TurbinesCopper is primarily used in the coil windings, high-voltage power cable conductors, and transformer coils in wind energy systems, and is vital to the electrical grounding system for wind turbine farms. The grounding rings at all turbines on a wind farm are inter-connected, providing a networked system with an extremely small aggregate resistance.
Solar PanelsCopper is playing a large role in solar-based electrical power production. It is valuable in photovoltaic (PV) systems that produce electricity through the action of sunshine on certain semiconductors. As solar energy becomes more available, the need for copper cables and copper-loaded transformers, inverters and switch gear will swell.
The need for copper in emerging renewable energy sources is becoming significant, and rightly so since only copper cables and connectors provide the reliability that these systems demand.