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Some places hide opportunities so powerful they could completely reshape a nation’s future. What looks ordinary at first glance turns out to hold enormous value - enough to change economies, launch new industries, and rewrite long-term plans for entire regions. From unexpected natural advantages to discoveries that open the door to massive wealth, these stories show how quickly everything can shift once the right potential is uncovered. Animation is created by Bright Side.
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This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
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FunTranscript
00:00There's a country that runs on volcanoes, rivers, and lakes for power.
00:06Sounds like a fantasy game setting, but it's all true.
00:10Welcome to New Zealand.
00:12This island nation already gets about 85% of its electricity from renewable resources like hydro, geothermal, and wind.
00:21That's impressive, but it's actually just getting started.
00:25Now, let's zoom in on a place called the South Taranaki Bight.
00:30It's a stretch of sea off the west coast of the North Island.
00:35At first glance, it looks just like any other tropical postcard location, but it's hiding New Zealand's clean energy jackpot.
00:43It's all about the South Taranaki Offshore Wind Project.
00:47This game-changer in the world of green power will build wind turbines in the ocean, enough to generate almost 1 gigawatt of clean electricity.
00:57That's roughly enough to power over 430,000 homes.
01:01To put that into perspective, that's almost a quarter of all the households in New Zealand.
01:06If the country can pull this off, it won't just become greener.
01:11It'll kickstart an entirely new profitable industry, offshore wind.
01:16It means over 600 new jobs in construction, operations, and maintenance.
01:21And these jobs are future-proof.
01:23The kind that won't disappear as the world moves away from oil and gas.
01:29It also means more tech development for the country, and of course, more energy independence.
01:34Experts also believe it will secure more business investment in New Zealand.
01:39And the entire offshore wind sector should bring in around $30 billion to the country's GDP between now and 2050.
01:49The South Taranaki Bight is a perfect location for this project.
01:53It gets consistent, powerful winds.
01:55Not stormy and chaotic, but steady and useful.
01:58That's exactly what you want for wind turbines.
02:00And the seabed here is deep, but not too deep, which is ideal for turbine platforms.
02:08They usually build traditional wind turbines on land or in shallow water, where they can stand on firm foundations.
02:16But the ones planned here are offshore wind turbines, which means engineers can install them in deeper water, further from land, and in stronger wind zones.
02:25The electricity the turbines generate will move to a major onshore connection point through cables.
02:32From there, it will travel via national grid infrastructure to power homes, businesses, and industry.
02:39To make all this happen, the project team has already laid the groundwork.
02:44One of the coolest things they've done so far is a floating LiDAR campaign.
02:49LiDAR means light detection and ranging.
02:52And it's like radar, but with lasers.
02:55They put this high-tech gear on a floating buoy that stays in the ocean for months.
03:01It collects crazy precise data about wind speeds, wave patterns, sea temperature, currents.
03:08That's all the stuff you need to plan an offshore power plant.
03:11If the project works out, it will take New Zealand to a new green level.
03:16Right now, the country still uses fossil fuels during peak demand times or when the hydro lakes run low.
03:23Most of those fossil fuels come from overseas, and they're expensive, polluting, and unreliable.
03:29But if offshore wind goes big, it could plug those energy gaps, especially during winter when winds are stronger and electricity use spikes.
03:39And if New Zealand produces more clean energy than it needs, it could start exporting it as green hydrogen.
03:45It's hydrogen made from water using renewable electricity, which is really healthy for our planet.
03:51The South Taranaki Offshore Wind Project, if all goes well, will be more than a local wind.
03:59It'll be a blueprint, a model other regions of New Zealand could follow.
04:04There are wind-rich areas all around the country's coastline, and floating offshore technology makes them more accessible than ever.
04:11Some scientists believe New Zealand could build up to 8 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2050.
04:18That's eight times what's being planned in Taranaki right now.
04:23Imagine what that could do.
04:25Clean energy for the whole country, plus exports, plus global leadership in a brand new industry.
04:32Of course, it's not all smooth sailing, and there are some challenges on the way.
04:36First, there's marine life.
04:38Any large ocean project needs to be careful about how it affects whales, dolphins, fish, and seabirds.
04:46That's why scientists are studying marine baseline in the early planning stages,
04:50to map out the local ecosystem and avoid any harm to it.
04:55They've already started this process in the Taranaki Bight and are gathering information,
05:00so turbines can be placed where they'll do the least damage.
05:04There's also a high cost.
05:06Offshore wind is more expensive than onshore right now,
05:10but costs are dropping as the tech improves and scales up.
05:14Plus, the long-term benefits—cleaner air, local jobs, energy security—make it worth it.
05:20And then there are potential problems with authorities, local tribes, iwi, and the community.
05:26They all must support the project for it to become a reality, and it's not always working out.
05:32For example, when a 34-page review article about the risks of the wind farms for the environment came out,
05:38local authorities were reviewing it.
05:41But if everything goes well, construction in the South Taranaki Bight could begin in the late 2020s.
05:48Iceland is a great example of a country where green, renewable energy works and rules.
05:539 out of 10 homes in this country stay warm thanks to underground geothermal heat.
06:00Thanks to its wild geology with volcanoes, hot springs, and glaciers, Iceland is packed with natural energy.
06:07It sits right on a superactive part of the Earth's crust, where two tectonic plates meet.
06:12That's why it has so much geothermal power, and hot water just bubbles up from below.
06:19Glaciers cover 11% of the country, and when they melt in the warmer months, they feed rivers that flow down from the mountains.
06:27That water's energy is turned into hydropower.
06:31Plus, Iceland also has lots of wind power potential.
06:35They just haven't tapped into it much yet.
06:37The only major thing still using fossil fuels in Iceland is transport, like cars and planes.
06:44But it wasn't always this way.
06:47Not long ago, Iceland relied mostly on imported oil and coal, especially before the 1970s.
06:55Back then, they mostly used geothermal energy for bathing and washing clothes.
06:58The change came when oil prices went up like crazy, and Iceland realized importing fuel was just too risky and expensive.
07:08The country needed its own stable, affordable energy.
07:12One farmer figured out how to use natural hot water to heat his home.
07:16Local communities followed his lead, and soon, towns were drilling deeper underground to get even hotter water.
07:22That hot water then went through pipes around neighborhoods and heated entire towns.
07:29It worked so well that the authorities set up a special fund to give out loans for geothermal drilling.
07:36Others started building small hydro plants.
07:39By 1950, Iceland had over 500 tiny hydropower stations powering farms and villages.
07:46Later, the authorities stepped in again to attract big international companies.
07:51If Iceland could offer cheap, green power, maybe new industries would move in, create jobs, and help grow the economy.
07:59That plan worked, and it also helped build a country-wide power grid.
08:05And it was all possible, not just because Iceland has amazing natural resources,
08:10but also thanks to teamwork of the authorities and regular citizens.
08:14A lot of countries today face the same problems.
08:18Nepal, for example, has tons of hydropower potential.
08:21But needs investment.
08:23Countries in East Africa have loads of underground geothermal energy,
08:28but not enough training or tech to use it.
08:31Iceland has been sharing what they know for decades.
08:35Since 1979, over a thousand people from other countries have gone there to study geothermal energy.
08:41Icelandic companies have helped build geothermal systems in more than 50 countries,
08:47including the world's biggest one in China, which now heats homes for over a million people.
08:53And you don't even need volcanoes to use geothermal energy.
08:57New technology means you can use lower temperatures to heat and cool buildings.
09:02Paris, for example, has one of Europe's largest geothermal heating systems.
09:06Around 25% of Europeans live in places where this tech could work.
09:12This area might just be the most important spot in America right now,
09:19as it is worth over $1 trillion.
09:22There's something incredibly valuable hidden right here at Thacker Pass,
09:27and it is going to shake things up, not just in Nevada, but in the U.S. economy and its global relations.
09:34The McDermott Caldera is a massive area, about 28 miles long by 22 miles wide,
09:42stretching across northern Nevada and southern Oregon.
09:45It's in Humboldt County, a quiet, rural place with just one main city
09:49that's going to change a lot in the next 5 to 10 years.
09:53That's because they found white gold there.
09:56We're talking about lithium.
09:58And to explain why this metal is so important, we need a scale.
10:03On one side, we place a chunk of lithium, and on the other, an apple.
10:07What do you think will happen?
10:09If both have the same volume, the scale is going to tip toward the apple.
10:13That's because lithium is super light.
10:15Its density is about 0.3 ounces per cubic inch,
10:19which makes it the lightest solid you can find at room temperature.
10:24Lithium is also extremely reactive.
10:27That means it combines with other elements very easily,
10:31and it can catch fire just as easily.
10:33Mix it with water?
10:34Fire.
10:35Expose it to air?
10:37Yep, fire again.
10:39But when you combine its lightness with its high reactivity,
10:42you get a material that's perfect for batteries.
10:46Like the one powering your smartphone, laptop, or even your electric car.
10:52Nevada's been hiding this treasure for about 16 million years.
10:56The McDermott Caldera used to be a volcanic hotspot,
11:00spewing molten rock and creating a huge lake filled with mineral-rich waters.
11:05Over time, that lake dried up,
11:08leaving behind thick layers of clay loaded with lithium.
11:11Right now, Thacker Pass Mine is sitting on one of the biggest untapped lithium reserves in the world,
11:19worth about $1.5 trillion.
11:21If everything goes as planned,
11:23they expect it to produce about 40,000 tons of high-quality lithium a year.
11:29And that's enough to make batteries for up to 800,000 electric cars.
11:33Like I mentioned earlier, this metal is the backbone of modern batteries.
11:39And with the world racing toward green energy, the demand for lithium is skyrocketing.
11:45Since 2020, its price has gone up more than 10 times,
11:48making it the most expensive battery metal in the world.
11:52That means it's way more expensive than magnesium, nickel, cobalt,
11:56and other materials used in rechargeable batteries.
11:59Right now, we're using about 1.16 million tons of lithium per year,
12:05and roughly 85% of it goes into making batteries, mostly for cars.
12:11Between 2030 and 2040,
12:13experts think we will need to double the money we're putting into production,
12:16from $94 billion to $188 billion.
12:20At the same time, investment in batteries will jump by over 200%,
12:26reaching $686 billion.
12:31Finally, by 2050,
12:33the demand for lithium is expected to be more than 10 times higher than what we're producing now.
12:39Sorry, I know that's a lot of numbers,
12:41but I just want to show how important Thacker Pass will be for the whole world.
12:45This mine is going to be key to keeping everything running.
12:48I mean, literally, since most of the future demand will be for things like cars,
12:53electric bikes, scooters, and renewable energy storage.
12:57Nevada could also be the epicenter of a global energy revolution,
13:02with the U.S. aiming to cut pollution by 50% by 2030.
13:06A big part of that is replacing gas-powered vehicles with electric ones.
13:11And to make that happen,
13:12America is going to need a whole lot more lithium than it's producing right now.
13:16Nowadays, most of the metal used in the United States come from countries like Chile and Argentina.
13:23So, if America wants to be a leader in this market,
13:26it really needs to invest more and more in projects like Thacker Pass.
13:31But there's another challenge.
13:33Finding lithium in a mine is one thing,
13:35but refining it is another story.
13:37Just like diamonds are carefully cut and shaped to bring out their sparkle and sold in rings and necklaces,
13:44something similar needs to be done with lithium.
13:48The raw material that comes from the mines has to be refined into a pure form
13:53that can actually be used in things like batteries.
13:55And China pretty much dominates this part of the market.
13:59And they're responsible for about 75% of global lithium-ion battery production.
14:06In other words,
14:07it doesn't matter if a country finds this powerful metal on its land.
14:10It will probably still need China to help refine it.
14:14So, the U.S. is eager to strengthen its supply chain.
14:17In fact, they're so excited about this possibility
14:20that authorities have invested over $2 billion in loans into the Nevada project.
14:26Because of that,
14:27Thacker Pass could make the U.S. a leader in lithium production worldwide.
14:33If their estimates are right,
14:34the McDermott Caldera could hold nearly half of the world's known lithium reserves.
14:39It would almost double the reserves found in Bolivia's salt flats, for example,
14:44which used to hold the record for the world's largest deposit.
14:49This discovery is about to change Humboldt County for good.
14:53Those quiet streets surrounded by nature will never feel the same again.
14:58The mine will need about 2,000 workers
15:00who will probably move there from other cities.
15:03Those workers will need houses, hospitals, schools for their kids,
15:07and all the necessary services.
15:09Do you see how it's like a ripple effect?
15:11For every person hired to work on the project during construction,
15:16six more people will get hired in the state to support them.
15:20Thacker Pass is also going to have a huge impact on the economy,
15:24not just in Nevada, but all across the country.
15:28People expect the mine to be active for 35 years,
15:31and each year, it's expected to generate over $2 billion.
15:35But here's the thing.
15:37In Thacker Pass, they'll be extracting lithium from clay,
15:41and this process has never been done on such a huge scale before.
15:45So it's kind of a hit or miss.
15:48But if it works, it could completely change the industry.
15:52Big question.
15:53Who's interested in all this?
15:55Well, we've got three big companies eyeing the lithium market in the U.S.
15:59First, there's ExxonMobil.
16:02The oil giant wants to start producing lithium by 2027,
16:06and they have plans to become the top supplier for electric vehicles by 2030.
16:12Then there's General Motors,
16:14the company behind big car brands like Chevrolet and Cadillac.
16:18They're so interested in this business
16:20that they agreed to pay $625 million for a 38% stake in Thacker Pass.
16:26And finally, Tesla.
16:29In 2023, they started building a factory in Texas to process lithium.
16:34It's all part of their plan to handle more of their supply chain themselves.
16:39Now that you know how important lithium is,
16:42you might be wondering,
16:44what if we run out?
16:45Well, that could happen,
16:47since it comes from mining and, just like gold, is a finite resource.
16:51But that doesn't mean we'd have to give up smartphones or electric cars.
16:55If we ever run out of this metal,
16:58we'd probably find new ways to produce batteries.
17:02In fact, some experts think thermal batteries could be the next big thing.
17:07They store extra energy from renewable resources like wind or solar power,
17:12which are very cheap.
17:14So, they represent a new way of storing energy at a small fraction of the cost.
17:18Nowadays, they're primarily used for powering the production of steel,
17:23cement, and chemicals.
17:26Thermal batteries are also being used to heat and cool large buildings.
17:30However, more and more projects are focusing on bringing this technology
17:34into private spaces, like houses and apartments.
17:38Experts are optimistic that initiatives like these
17:41could make thermal batteries as well-known as electric batteries,
17:44and they might soon become a regular part of our daily lives.
17:49That's it for today.
17:50So, hey, if you pacified your curiosity,
17:52then give the video a like and share it with your friends.
17:55Or, if you want more, just click on these videos
17:57and stay on the Bright Side!
17:59what are you doing?
18:01Alright.
18:01Alright.
18:06good
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