How does large-scale Bitcoin mining drive clean energy innovation?

It is well known that the energy consumption of Bitcoin mining is huge and growing rapidly, and will soon exceed the total consumption of some small countries. Many people believe that this growing carbon footprint will be a major threat to climate change.

But this isn't necessarily a threat. In fact, there may be benefits to increased energy use.

In the early days of Bitcoin mining, you could mine at home on a laptop. Simply setting up a device and letting it run was fine, and while the room might get a little hot and your energy bill might spike a little, early miners could make a profit. Back then, miners were only competing with other hobbyists or very small devices.

But the days of a person setting up a device at home and being able to competitively mine Bitcoin are over. To mine competitively today, you need fast, large, and powerful equipment, which means having the most advanced hardware at scale to run the algorithms at the fastest speeds. Large-scale data centers with thousands of mining machines now dominate the mining competitive landscape. Those with the highest performance hardware, the most efficient software, the best operations, and the cheapest electricity will have an advantage over the competition.

This level of computing generates a lot of energy (heat). Bitcoin mining is estimated to generate 77TWh of energy per year, which is comparable to the energy consumption of Chile.

Such high energy production is necessary to remain competitive, which means mining operations must prioritize low energy costs in their business. Since crypto mining is not restricted by location, many mining operations are looking for areas that can provide cheap, preferably renewable energy to build data centers. Currently, sustainable energy sources such as hydropower and wind power are not only the cleanest, but also the most cost-effective. In addition, mining operations are also looking for areas with excess energy.

When a lot of energy is consumed, a lot of energy needs to be released. This is a simple law of thermodynamics. All the energy consumed is not destroyed, but released again in the form of heat, which is a byproduct of mining operations. The heat generated by computing is so huge that data centers need to focus not only on the hardware, but also on the cooling system.

Until now, heat has been just a byproduct that needs to be cooled and dispersed. But now, Bitcoin miners are thinking: What if the excess heat can be used? How can the heat generated by mining operations be recovered or reused to provide sustainable clean energy? For example, data centers can heat homes, heat greenhouses, or replace heat sources for certain industries? Or heat cold regions where heat energy is scarce?

Data Center Heating Greenhouse

A new partner in northern Sweden is looking for answers to these questions.

In order to make its region more sustainable, Boden Business is looking to partner with energy-intensive industries to create synergies between the two, and our company Genesis Mining has stepped in to provide computing power. The partnership also includes the Swedish Research Institute (RISE) and Luleå University of Technology.

Nordic countries have already attracted mining operations due to their sustainable and cheap energy. And now there is an opportunity for mining operations to give back in the form of excess heat for greenhouses to better grow food, making the local economy more productive and sustainable. Mattias Vesterlund, senior researcher at RISE, believes: "A 1 MW data center will have the ability to strengthen local self-sufficiency by up to 8%, and the products will be more competitive in the market."

Genesis Mining is delivering a 600kW air-cooled data center container that will provide heat to a 300 square meter greenhouse through a specially constructed air duct system. This heat will keep the greenhouse at a comfortable 25°C (77°F) year-round, in an area where temperatures can drop as low as -30°C (-22°F). The project looks to be focused on growing fruit and vegetables, but the data center heat could also be used for fish, insect and algae farming, as well as providing heat for drying fruit and vegetables.

This will provide the local agricultural economy with an opportunity to increase food production. Not only will it make local producers more sustainable, but it will also reduce reliance on imports, while also meeting regional energy efficiency goals.

The project is also a social project, bringing together local farmers, municipalities, scientists and the IT industry. The mining operation is addressing the local issue of scaling sustainable food production, while the local farms provide the mining operation with a way to recycle waste and offset its carbon footprint.

Strengthening local economies while promoting decentralization

These partnerships will also further the decentralized vision that the crypto mining industry holds so dear. With sustainable green energy available in the form of data center heat, it provides a use case for the decentralization of energy production. And by seeing more of these projects emerge, it will also force mining operations to reevaluate their role in giving back, as they already have a ready-made way to provide sustainable energy to the communities around them.

The connected greenhouse may seem like a small-scale initiative right now, but it’s laying the groundwork for a large-scale impact. Could bitcoin mining operations one day help heat villages, support the food industry, or even power entire cities? The opportunities look viable.

At the same time, let’s not blame Bitcoin for its energy usage. Instead, we should encourage it because it could be a path to a more sustainable future.

Compiled by: Public account @萌眼财经