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Bitcoin as a battery

Green energy is wasted if it is not used when it is produced. Batteries that can store renewable energy when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing, Holy Bowl of the energy sector. For now these are not at the required scale. But some think that Bitcoin can act as another kind of “battery”. It can store the value of renewable energy by transforming intermittently available local solar and wind power into a globally traded digital asset with an unlimited shelf life.

Some argue that another way to make Bitcoin mining more sustainable is to use “stranded” or wasted energy, such as capturing the power of flare gas in oil patches. mint digital currency.

Can crypto mining be made sustainable?

Prager: Once you have a power grid, you want it to be increasingly sustainable. Get much more renewable energy. These are the intermittent energy supply options we will source for our mining capacity, such as hydro, solar and wind, all of which are great. You want to have a constant load that keeps the grid stable. You always have this burden of Bitcoin mining, but this burden can go away. It can be closed within 200 hours a year when there are supply shortages. So good for grilling. This is good for everyone.

Does the Bitcoin as a battery metaphor make sense?

Breitman: A one-way battery is not a battery. There is Bitcoin mining in Texas. There was a crisis and people were freezing. Why couldn’t they use the energy stored in that Bitcoin battery? This is not a battery.

How else can Bitcoin help with wasted energy?

Prager: At the end of the day, there is a huge amount of electricity in our country that is simply stranded or wasted. So again context. Here you need spinning reserves. If everyone wants sustainability, you need flexible baseload facilities to be able to develop the grid, and I definitely want it. Bitcoin mining with zero carbon emissions does just that.

Does using excess energy for crypto mining make it more sustainable?

DeVries: Bitcoin uses a lot of energy, but if it’s an energy use that would otherwise be wasted, it’s not really an issue. And that’s most of the supposedly stranded assets. But in most cases these assets become fossil fuels. China recently banned Bitcoin mining because these Bitcoin miners were ultimately responsible for reviving coal mines. We see similar examples in the USA. new YorkWhere a gas power plant from Bitcoin mining was revived.

beyond electricity

An often overlooked factor in the environmental cost of cryptocurrency is mining hardware that quickly wears out and produces toxic. electronic waste.