Mining with Wind & Solar Energynicosmid.substack.com/p/mining-with-wind-and-solar-energy
187 sats \ 2 comments \ @BTCMiner 25 Oct 2022 bitcoin
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25 sats \ 1 reply \ @satcat 25 Oct 2022
There is much talk of miners' ability to shut down with a moments notice, yet to be profitable miner's must run basically 24/7. Hence, wind and solar only work when coupled with huge battery capacity. It remains to be seen if Tesla's batteries can make solar mining profitable.
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10 sats \ 0 replies \ @BTCMiner OP 26 Oct 2022
yet to be profitable miner's must run basically 24/7.
Which is more profitable. Paying $0.08 per kWh and running 24/7, or paying $0.06 per kwh and only running 18 hours per day (and powered off the remaining 6 hours per day)?
With a low margin environment like we have today, powering off for 25% of each day would actually be more profitable, if that were needed to obtain the discounted rate.
So no, ... it's not an absolute that a miner must run 24/7 to maximize profit. There are other factors that come into play.
Hence, wind and solar only work when coupled with huge battery capacity.
Energy storage, especially with today's electric battery technology, is incredibly inefficient, nonetheless extremely capital intensive. At least for something like supporting bitcoin mining.
Electric battery storage certainly can be justified in many instances, but bitcoin mining is not one of those.
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