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Sustainable Bitcoin Mining
1420 sats \ 9 comments \ @cryotosensei 23 Jun bitcoin freebie
My affinity with Bitcoin partly lies in how BTC mining leverages sustainable forms of energy. Sometimes, I get triggered when mainstream media perpetuates the stereotype that BTC mining = damaging Mother Earth. However, as many examples have illustrated, BTC mining helps resolve the energy grid problem because it uses the excess energy produced during periods of low demand. In fact, according to 2022 data from the BTC Mining Council, Bitcoin mining consumes a mere 0.16% of the world’s total energy production.
As an ex-Science teacher, I enjoy reading about how BTC miners take advantage of the renewable energy sources in various parts of the world to conduct their operations.
  • For example, Norway is the biggest Bitcoin mining hub in Europe because it has abundant hydropower.
  • Bitcoin mining is also environmentally friendly in Iceland because it has abundant geothermal energy.
  • El Salvador has used geothermal power from a volcano to mine nearly 474 bitcoins since 2021.1
  • Other examples include wind farms in Texas and hydroelectric dams in Canada.
  • New innovations are always on the way. In June 2024, Marathon Digital Holdings launched a pilot project that aims to recycle heat generated from a 2-megawatt digital asset data center in Finland to reduce carbon emissions. This project is undertaken in the Satakunta region, which is home to 11,000 residents.2
Sustainable BTC mining isn’t restricted to Western countries. Just last June, Crusoe Energy, an American-based energy company that leverages wasted natural gas flaring to power BTC mining3
and boasts a patented Bitcoin Flare Mitigation technology, announced its intention to expand its operations in the Middle East with investment backing in the form of sovereign wealth funds of Abu Dhabi and Oman.
Hopefully, more places will jumpy on the bandwagon and adopt renewable technologies to mine BTC.

Footnotes

  1. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/el-salvador-mined-nearly-474-bitcoins-adding-state-crypto-holding-last-three-2024-05-14/ ↩
  2. https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/marathon-uses-bitcoin-mining-heat-town-11000-finland ↩
  3. https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2023/07/07/everything-you-need-to-know-about-bitcoin-and-the-environment/ ↩
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20 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 23 Jun
I think it's more important that bitcoin allows more reliance on baseload power, which is more efficient.
In places with peak pricing models, miners can shut down during peak usage and operate during the cheaper low demand periods.
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49 sats \ 1 reply \ @DiedOnTitan 23 Jun
The voice that I have found most compelling with regard to Bitcoin energy consumption is Daniel Batten. One of the most complex aspects to clean energy development is that sources of this energy are often in places far removed from the grid and from consumers of this enerrgy (cities & industry). If only there was an anchor energy consumer that does not require connection to the grid, can operate in remote areas, can handle variable energy loads, and crucially, can pay for the energy it consumes while scaling up the development of this remote energy resource: enter Bitcoin mining.
Batten contends that it is in fact good for the environment because it is the only energy consumer that can convert methane into revenue. Oil and gas sites are often far removed from the grid and energy consumers. It's a dirty business. And it releases methane which is a lead contributor of the greenhouse effect. The linked article goes into far more detail.
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200 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 23 Jun
Thanks for the recommendation! Will check him out
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49 sats \ 1 reply \ @grayruby 23 Jun
Bitcoin mining will always trend to the lowest cost energy. It’s nice when that is sustainable energy and that bitcoin mining can be a base load customer for sustainable energy projects.
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20 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 23 Jun
This is what we call a win-win situation
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 10 Jul
Norway is also the largest exporter of crude oil and natural gas in western Europe.
Not a member of EU
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @16d86e9daa 23 Jun
Bitcoin mining has achieved a new sustainability milestone, with 54.5% of its energy consumption now powered by renewable sources, according to the Bitcoin ESG Forecast, a research series by Daniel Batten, a co-founder of methane mitigation fund CH4 Capital
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @SatsMate 23 Jun
For landfill methane emissions, we need to capture that methane, convert it to electricity and mine Bitcoin. I know Nucor energy is doing something with this, but we need all environmental companies to adopt this at scale.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @karanjajes 23 Jun
It would be great if bitcoin mining begins in the middle east,why? Abundance of solar energy
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