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Bitcoin and the environment
I love Bitcoin because it’s good for the environment!
After this sentence, I usually see question marks in the eyes of my conversation partners.
Because mining Bitcoin actually consumes a lot of energy.
And energy consumption is bad at first, isn’t it?
And this is exactly where you have to look into the details. Because Bitcoin mining actually promotes the expansion of renewable energy. Electricity must always be consumed at the moment it is produced.
Otherwise, our amazingly sensitive power grid collapses. And yes, a battery or a storage unit is a consumer. However, production and consumption follow different patterns.
Photovoltaic systems produce most of their electricity at midday and in the afternoon, for example. Private individuals, however, consume most of their electricity in the evening and early night.
If a PV system produces more electricity than is currently needed, it is temporarily switched off. This weakens the business case of the plant, as it loses revenue. This is where Bitcoin comes in, because Bitcoin mining is a flexible consumer.
The cheaper the electricity used for mining, the more profitable the mining (more Bitcoin per kWh). And the cheapest electricity is the electricity that nobody else needs.
So if you want to expand renewable energy, you can use Bitcoin miners to ensure that you always have a paying customer. And that ensures more renewable energy is already the world’s most sustainable industry! By comparison, Germany is only at 48.5%.
Has this changed your opinion of Bitcoin?
And this is exactly where you have to look into the details. Because Bitcoin mining actually promotes the expansion of renewable energy. Electricity must always be consumed at the moment it is produced.
Otherwise, our amazingly sensitive power grid collapses. And yes, a battery or a storage unit is a consumer. However, production and consumption follow different patterns.
Photovoltaic systems produce most of their electricity at midday and in the afternoon, for example. Private individuals, however, consume most of their electricity in the evening and early night.
If a PV system produces more electricity than is currently needed, it is temporarily switched off. This weakens the business case of the plant, as it loses revenue. This is where Bitcoin comes in, because Bitcoin mining is a flexible consumer.
The cheaper the electricity used for mining, the more profitable the mining (more Bitcoin per kWh). And the cheapest electricity is the electricity that nobody else needs.
So if you want to expand renewable energy, you can use Bitcoin miners to ensure that you always have a paying customer. And that ensures more renewable energy is already the world’s most sustainable industry! By comparison, Germany is only at 48.5%.
Has this changed your opinion of Bitcoin?