Recycled copper a key source in renewable-energy development

Here in northeastern Minnesota, the mining of copper and precious metals from the earth remains a conversation that stirs passion from environmentalists, politicians, workers on the Iron Range and many thousands of residents from Grand Marais to the Twin Cities region. It’s a conversation with a strong history and a future, as copper is likely to be in greater demand in the coming decades.

That’s at least in part because copper is used in renewable energy systems to generate power from solar, hydro, thermal and wind energy across the world. Furthermore, an electric car uses three times as much copper wiring than an internal combustion engine vehicle.

So where is all this copper going to come from? Can copper be recycled in a means that could offset the need for more mining?

WTIP’s Joe Friedrichs spoke with Adam Estelle, the director of rod and bar at the North American Copper Development Association, to find out the answers.