Project ShowcasesEnvironment
Written By Drew Simon
One of the most prominent critiques of cryptocurrencies, and Bitcoin specifically, is that they are damaging to the environment. This is largely due to Bitcoin’s energy-intensive proof-of-work mining process that does, indeed, use a lot of energy, resulting in a high level of C02 emissions. Some have gone so far as to claim Bitcoin is an environmental catastrophe, and that it is responsible for “setting the oceans on fire!!”
You may have heard terrifying stats such as the one released by the University of Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Index, that found the energy consumption of Bitcoin to be more than 129.24 TWh per year, or more than some countries including Argentina or Ukraine. Another concerning statistic is that Bitcoin mining generates as much CO2 in 30 months as 1 million cars would in the same period. These are certainly alarming statistics, and steps need to be taken to ensure that Bitcoin, and cryptocurrency more generally, is as environmentally friendly as possible.
One way this is being addressed is through innovative Bitcoin mining processes that aim to save, reuse, and repurpose energy and heat from mining. In this blog, we will be sharing examples of five bitcoin mining operations that have come up with innovative ways to run more environmentally friendly operations.
Bitcoin mining to heat a city
MintGreen, a Bitcoin mining company which styles itself as a cleantech cryptocurrency miner, is working with a local energy company to use Bitcoin mining to supply heat to a BC city. According to the CEO of MintGreen, “The company uses an “immersion” technology that captures the heat generated in mining and goes to hot water utilities known as “District Energy,” which is then distributed to the customers.”
The company’s boilers can recover about 96% of the electricity used in the mining operations as heat, which can then be redistributed to supply communities and industrial processes. For this project, they are working with a local utility company that serves close to 100 buildings in the city of North Vancouver.
Becoming a green power “shock absorber”
HODL Ranch, a bitcoin mining data centre based out of Texas, has entered in to a demand response contract with the Texas grid, meaning that, at a moments notice, they agree to shut down their mining operations during peak power demand. Essentially, “in Texas, bitcoin miners act as a shock absorber for new green power, buying energy when it’s not needed and shutting their rigs when demand surges.” HODL Ranch is also the first large-scale operation in the region to be powered by solar and wind farms.
Bitcoin mining to dry out chopped logs
Kryptovault, Norway’s largest data centre and Bitcoin Miner is not only using regenerative hydropower to power its mining operation, but it is now recycling the hot air generated from bitcoin mining to dry out chopped logs. This ensures the heat produced during Bitcoin mining doesn’t become “trapped energy” and go to waste, and instead serves an important purpose. In the first half of 2022, the company is looking to launch a seaweed drying operation as well.
Using excess energy
Crusoe Energy Systems, a Bitcoin mining company backed by the likes of the Winklevoss twins and Bain Capital, has set up a series of mining operations in remote oil-and-gas fields across six states in the US. These operations are powered using natural gas which otherwise would have had to been burned off or flared.
When oil and natural gas companies drill new wells, they don’t yet have pipelines hooked up to gather the natural gas that is released, and instead set it on fire. This means that natural gas that would have just gone to waste, is at least now serving some purpose, as opposed to just being burnt and released into the atmosphere.
Bitcoin mining to heat greenhouses
Bitcoin Bloem, a Bitcoin mining company based out of the Netherlands, is using excess heat from Bitcoin mining to heat greenhouses. The Bitcoin miner, in partnership with a Dutch Farmer, supplies heat to a greenhouse that grows flowers.
Bitcoin Bloem mines the Bitcoin in the greenhouse, and pays the electricity bill for the farmer, while the farmer gets enough heat to grow their crops. Not only does this save the farmer money, but it also replaces gas heaters which reduces the need for polluting natural gas.
Conclusion
These steps alone will not be enough to ensure Bitcoin mining is 100% renewable and carbon neutral. That being said, they are certainly a step in the right direction, and demonstrate the many ways that mining operations around the role can and are innovating to reduce their environmental footprint.
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Drew Simon
