We’ve mentioned how ‘green’ trends, such as hybrid cars and windmills, will result in huge demand for rare earth metals. Silver is also required to harness solar energy – this is possibly the biggest driver of incremental demand for the metal:
In the U.S. alone, 5 million ounces of silver are used each year in the production of mirrors. However, the vast majority of such production is of conventional mirrors (i.e,. what we hang on our walls), because solar power is in its infancy. As this application grows in importance, those U.S. consumption numbers can be expected to jump dramatically. Projecting that consumption over the entire globe, and it is easy to see global demand for silver — just for mirrors/solar energy — amounting to several, hundred million ounces per year.
Silver also has antibacterial properties and is increasingly used in the production of clothing and upholstery. While this is not a new phenomenon, it provides a steady source of industrial demand for the metal.
Of course, this doesn’t get into the monetary uses (many countries were once on a silver standard) or the argument that silver supply is expected to run out over the next couple decades.
Source: Street
