Some Bitcoin mining projects are helping to protect the environment by using recycled energy.
According to second quarter report 2022 Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC) report, published on July 19, almost 60% of the electricity used to power Bitcoin mining rigs comes from sustainable sources.
This means that the use of renewable sources by the Bitcoin mining industry has grown by 6% compared to the same quarter of the previous year. At this rate, Bitcoin mining has become one of the most sustainable industries worldwide.
The increased use of renewable energy in Bitcoin mining coincides with the improvement in mining efficiency. Bitcoin hashrate has grown by 137% year-on-year during the second quarter of 2022, while energy use only grew by 63%, with a 46% difference in efficiency.
In a video shared by the Council on YouTube, Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy and one of the founders of the initiative, points out that mining efficiency has grown by 5.814% in just eight years.
The report also describes how the rise in the price of Bitcoin boosts grid energy efficiency, as demonstrated by the increase over the last eight years. As the price increases, so does the demand for mining ASICs, which drives innovation in their development, obtaining more efficient and profitable equipment, with much lower consumption.
Does Bitcoin mining pollute more than other industries?
The report also noted that Bitcoin mining accounts for just 0,09% of the 34.800 billion metric tons of carbon emissions produced worldwide and that It only consumes 0,15% of the world's energy supply.
In comparison, other traditional industries, such as banking, consume twice as much energy. published report According to Galaxy Digital in 2022, the energy consumed by the Bitcoin network is estimated at 113,89 terawatt hours (TWh) per year, while the banking sector consumes 263,72 TWh per year, even more than the gold industry, which has an annual consumption of around 250 TWh.
Bitcoin mining with renewable energy in the world
Bitcoin mining companies are implementing new renewable energy sources, aiming to achieve carbon neutrality and become a clean industry for good.
Companies like Argo Blockchain, turn to clean energy sources such as hydroelectric power, while in South Korea they are using tidal power plants. Meanwhile, in El Salvador, the government has detailed its plans to create mining plants powered by geothermal energy. coming from volcanoes.
Others, such as Aspen Creek Digital Corporation are betting on solar energy to improve the energy efficiency of their mining facilities.
On the other hand, Crusoe Energy Systems is working to use the surplus of natural gas produced in oil extractions. At the moment, it has implemented Bitcoin mining systems in facilities in Oman, as well as in the oil extraction wells of Exxon in North Dakota.
In this sense, Norway produces the 1% of all hashrate worldwide using only alternative energy sources, mainly from wind and hydroelectric sources, and also from recycled sources, for example, by using surplus thermal energy from wood drying kilns.
Initiatives to clean up the environment through Bitcoin mining
Among the initiatives that have been created to clean up the environment, the one by Stronghold Digital Mining stands out, which has developed a system to use the coal waste that remain on the land of the mines. This system allows “cleaning” the land of coal waste which pollute, increase the risk of flooding by making the soil impermeable and preventing rainwater from filtering through, and pose a serious risk of fire.
On the other hand, a community of users dedicated to Bitcoin mining, called Bitcoin Lake, has presented a proposal to use the waste that is dumped into Lake Atitlán, one of the most emblematic places in Guatemala, for Bitcoin mining.
Lake Atitlan is one of the most polluted in the world, due to garbage dumping, fuels burned by nautical transport, chemicals used in agricultural activities and other activities such as rapid deforestation of the environment and others.
The project intends collect organic waste that pollutes the lake, using small digesters. These digesters collect organic waste and burn it, producing enough methane gas to power Bitcoin mining equipment.
Beyond the waste extracted from the water, Lago Bitcoin also aims to use agricultural surpluses (especially from corn production), as well as manure from local farms and waste from slaughterhouses. In this way, the waste is reused and converted into clean energy.
The Bitcoin Lake project aims to protect the environment, but also to generate a circular economy system, in which the inhabitants of the area receive something in return.
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