Environment

Greenland’s melting ice is clearing the way for a mineral ‘gold rush’

Published

16 hours ago

January 17, 2025

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In this aerial view melting icebergs crowd the Ilulissat Icefjord on July 16, 2024 near Ilulissat, Greenland.

Sean Gallup | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Major ice loss from Greenland is exposing the island’s natural resources, inadvertently making some of the world’s largest untapped critical mineral reserves more accessible.

Greenland, a vast but sparsely populated island situated between the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans, has been transformed by the climate crisis in recent decades.

A major analysis of historic satellite images, published last year by researchers at the U.K.’s University of Leeds, showed that the autonomous Danish territory is turning increasingly green due to human-caused global warming.

The changing environment has seen parts of Greenland’s ice sheet and glaciers replaced by wetlands, areas of shrub and barren rock.

Scientists have repeatedly sounded the alarm over the melting snow and ice on the island, warning the loss of ice mass risks increased greenhouse gas emissions and rising sea levels.

For mining companies, Greenland’s ice retreat could facilitate the start of a mineral “gold rush.”

Landscape, on the Drygalski Peninsula, with icebergs in the Uummannaq Fjord System in the northwest of Greenland, north of the polar circle.

Reda | Universal Images Group | Getty Images

“What’s happening now is interesting because the waters around Greenland are opening up earlier and earlier each year and closing down later and later each year. And the ability to get into these far-flung places is a lot easier than it was 20, 30, 40 or 70 years ago,” Roderick McIllree, executive director of U.K.-based mining company 80 Mile, told CNBC via video call.

“Now, the ice probably only really forms for three or four months in the very northern latitudes and the rest of the country is seeing receding ice caps that is exposing rocks and potential mineral deposits that haven’t been seen before,” he added.

80 Mile currently has three projects it is actively developing in Greenland, including a large oil concession on the island’s east coast, a titanium project near the U.S. Pituffik Space Base in the northwest and its Disko-Nuussuaq project in the southwest.

Underlining the island’s strategic potential as a globally significant mining hub, McIllree said the firm’s Disko project could be one of the largest occurrences of nickel and copper on the planet.

A geopolitical storm

Tony Sage, CEO of Critical Metals Corporation, which is developing one of the world’s largest rare earth assets in Greenland, said ice melt on the island had done the mining company “enormous favors” from a logistical standpoint.

Sage said the company had been able to bring in large ships directly from the North Atlantic “right up to the edge of our ore body” at Tanbreez in southern Greenland, adding that the creation of fjords 80 meters deep meant the team had been able to make use of a floating dock rather than a port.

A boat carrying tourists manoeuvres among icebergs floating in Disko Bay, Ilulissat, western Greenland, on June 30, 2022.

Odd Andersen | Afp | Getty Images

“You can imagine, it’s easier now to do these things. If you go into Russia, for example, in Siberia, it’s under a lot of permafrost and ice and they still manage to mine a lot of minerals, as well as oil and gas. So, yes, there will be a mini gold rush into Greenland,” Sage told CNBC via video call.

Alongside Greenland’s harsh climate, remote landscape and small population, Sage highlighted a lack of infrastructure as a barrier for mining companies to overcome.

“It’s just logistics. The Danes never built a railway [and] didn’t build any roads,” Sage said.

“Once you’re outside of these little towns and cities, there are no roads. So, if you want to go in between, for example, Qaqortoq, where we are, to Nuuk, you have to take a helicopter. So, that is the issue that you’ll have with a gold rush,” he added.

Greenland, which has long pitched itself as a Western alternative to China’s near monopoly on rare earth elements, has been thrust into the center of a geopolitical storm in recent weeks.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to gain control of the territory, describing the prospect as an “absolute necessity” for purposes related to national security.

Speaking at a news conference earlier in the month, Trump refused to rule out the possibility of using military force to make Greenland a part of U.S.

Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede said Monday that the island is open to closer ties with U.S., particularly in areas such as mining. Egede has previously insisted Greenland is “not for sale” and called for the international community to respect the island’s aspirations for independence.

Early stages

Jakob Kløve Keiding, senior consultant at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), said a 2023 survey of Greenland’s resource potential evaluated a total of 38 raw materials on the island, the vast majority of which have a relatively high or moderate potential.

These materials include the rare earth metals graphite, niobium, platinum group metals, molybdenum, tantalum and titanium. Greenland is also known to have significant lithium, hafnium, uranium and gold deposits.

Critical minerals refer to a subset of materials considered essential to the energy transition. The end-use of these materials, which tend to have a high risk of supply chain disruption, are wide-ranging and include electric vehicle batteries, energy storage technologies and national security applications.

A woman looks out from a tour boat as it sails away from a glacier between Maniitsoq and Sisimiut, west coast of Greenland on September 4, 2024.

James Brooks | Afp | Getty Images

“There is huge potential [in Greenland] but, at the moment, there is not actually much mining going on,” Keiding told CNBC via telephone.

“Greenland is what we would call a greenfield exploration area. So, [it is] in the early stages of exploration where, for many of the deposits, we don’t have that much data. But there are some large and well-established deposits with known resources.”

Keiding issued a note of caution when asked about the prospect of a mineral gold rush, saying that while Greenland’s retreating ice may remove some logistical hurdles, progress in terms of extraction will likely take “quite some time.”

Environment

Puerto Rico just got $1.2B in DOE financing to boost its grid with solar + storage

Published

1 hour ago

January 17, 2025

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Puerto Rico just got .2B in DOE financing to boost its grid with solar + storage

Puerto Rico solar storage — Photo: Convergent Energy

The US Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $1.2 billion in financing to replace Puerto Rico’s fossil fuel plants with solar and battery storage through 2032.

The DOE’s Loan Programs Office announced two conditional commitments and one loan closing to power producers in Puerto Rico. Each supports a project contracted with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. The announcements include:

The closing of a $584.5 million loan guarantee to subsidiaries of Convergent Energy to finance a 100 MW solar farm with a 55 MW (55 MWh) battery energy storage system (BESS) in the municipality of Coamo and BESS installations in the municipalities of Caguas (25MW/100MWh), Peñuelas (100MW/400MWh), and Ponce (up to 100MW/400MWh)
A conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $133.6 million to a subsidiary of Infinigen for a 32.1 MW solar farm with an integrated 14.45 MW (4.76 MWh) BESS, and a co-located standalone 50 MW (200 MWh) BESS expansion in the municipality of Yabucoa
A conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $489.4 million to a subsidiary of Pattern Energy for three stand-alone BESS in the municipalities of Arecibo (50 MW/200 MWh), and Santa Isabel (50 MW /200 MWh and 80 MW/320 MW), and a 70 MW solar farm with an integrated BESS in the municipality of Arecibo.

If all are finalized, these projects would more than double LPO’s support for utility-scale solar generation and battery energy storage in Puerto Rico.

LPO provides low-cost financing and a rigorous due diligence process, making it a valuable resource for Puerto Rico as it works to rebuild an affordable, reliable, and clean energy system. As a result of reliance on imported fuel, the persistent threat of tropical storms, and underinvested infrastructure, Puerto Ricans today face average energy costs that are twice the US average – all while consuming only one-quarter of the energy of the US per capita.

LPO’s initial loan to a power producer in Puerto Rico, Project Marahu, closed in October 2024, and when complete will add more than 200 MW of solar and up to 285 MW of stand-alone energy storage to Puerto Rico’s grid.

Through its September 2023 partial loan guarantee to Project Hestia, LPO also supports virtual power plant (VPP)-ready rooftop solar and battery storage installations in Puerto Rico. As a nationwide project, Hestia’s sponsor is committed to at least 20% of installations under Project Hestia going to homeowners in Puerto Rico.

As part of its procurement plan, Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority seeks to install 1,500 MW of battery storage and requires a minimum capacity of storage to be co-located with each utility-scale solar project. Energy storage systems currently online in Puerto Rico are being dispatched every day.

When including Marahu, LPO’s closed and conditionally committed financing supports over 100% of the capacity Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority aimed to procure under its initial request for energy storage project proposals, the first of six.

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Environment

Chevy launches sweet new Equinox and Blazer EV deals that can slash prices by $5,000

Published

2 hours ago

January 17, 2025

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Chevy launches sweet new Equinox and Blazer EV deals that can slash prices by ,000

Chevy just introduced new deals on the Equinox and Blazer EV models to make them even more affordable. With 0% interest and a new trade-in bonus, Chevy is offering over $5,000 in savings.

Chevy adds new Equinox and Blazer EV deals in January

Although the Chevy Equinox EV is already “the most affordable” EV in its class with over 315 miles range, it’s getting even cheaper.

Earlier this week, Chevy launched new deals on the 2024 Equinox and Blazer EV models. According to a note sent to dealers, viewed by CarsDirect, the electric SUVs are now available with 0% APR financing for 60 months. You can also choose from 0.9% AP for 72 months and 2.9% APR for 84 months.

This marks the best financing offer on Chevy’s newest EVs to date. The previous best rates were 0.9% APR for 60 months, 3.9% for 72 months, and 5.9% for the longer 84-month option.

On a 7-year $45,000 loan, online auto research firm CarsDirect estimates the new deals amount to around a $5,200 price cut. The lower APR rates are already offered on the Chevrolet Silverado EV pickup.

Chevy-Blazer-EV-deals — 2024 Chevy Blazer EV RS (Source: GM)

In addition, Chevy is offering a trade-in bonus of up to $3,000 on the Silverado EV and $1,000 on the electric Equinox and Blazer models. If you choose to lease, the bonus is cut in half: $1,500 for the Silverado and $500 for the electric SUVs.

Chevy’s new EV deals started on January 14 and run through March 3, 2025. The deals come as rivals like Hyundai and Ford recently launched new EV promotions.

Chevy-Equinox-EV-deals — 2024 Chevy Equinox EV LT (Source: GM)

On Thursday, Hyundai launched a new promo on the upgraded 2025 IONIQ 5, which includes monthly leases as low as $199 and a free ChargePoint home EV charger (or $400 charging credit). Meanwhile, Ford extended its “Power Promise” program earlier this month, which also includes a free home charger, among several other benefits.

The 2024 Chevy Equinox EV started at $41,900 with up to 315 miles range. Prices for the electric Chevy Blazer start at $43,690 with up to 279 miles range.

If you are ready to try out Chevy’s new electric SUVs for yourself, we’ve got you covered. You can use our links below to view offers on the Chevy Equinox, Silverado, and Blazer EV models near you.

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Environment

Podcast: non-Tesla EV Supercharger access, Cybertruck sales, Rivian $$$, and more

Published

2 hours ago

January 17, 2025

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Podcast: non-Tesla EV Supercharger access, Cybertruck sales, Rivian $$$, and more

In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss non-Tesla EVs getting Supercharger access, Cybertruck sales in the spotlight, Rivian getting some money from Biden, and more.

The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.

Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET):

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