2023-04-28 11:37:57
We know the old criticism well: Bitcoin mining has a staggering carbon footprint. The main reason for this is that most miners do not recycle the heat produced, they simply release it back into nature.
However, what if Bitcoin mining plants were viewed as IT facilities and district heating providers at the same time?
This attitude might potentially contribute to the way humanity views energy and sustainability.
Energy use is constantly increasing
According to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, Bitcoin’s electricity consumption has been steadily increasing since the network’s inception. The resulting greenhouse gas emissions are also continuously increasing in the long term.
What you need to know regarding mining is that it produces a lot of unnecessary heat. Properly dissipating and using this heat is one of the keys to making Bitcoin greener.
It seems that all this is no longer just the bold future. One Canadian city, North Vancouver, for example, already has one with specific plans regarding the population being supplied with heat by Bitcoin miners. To this end, the energy provider Lonsdale Energy Provider and the Bitcoin mining company MintGreen have already entered into a partnership so that at least all the heat produced by mining can be recycled.
The heat generated by Bitcoin can be used effectively for recreational purposes, among other things. Heating an average swimming pool, for example, costs $2,000 to $5,000. If we were to do all this with Bitcoin mining, we would kill two birds with one stone. We are not aware of more serious research on the subject, i.e. whether it would really be more cost-effective for swimming pools to choose this solution.
A Dutch people were also creative in the field. The excess heat generated by Bitcoin mining is being used by some to heat tulip greenhouses, a task previously handled by natural gas. Of course, gas dependence can be solved with a standard electric heater, but if there is a Bitcoin farm next door, why not make a subsidized deal?
in Sweden another mining company uses 600-kilowatt ASIC machines to heat a 300-square-meter greenhouse in which fruits and vegetables are grown. The machines are housed in an air-cooled container, from which the air is pumped directly into the greenhouse. With this process, they are able to maintain a constant temperature of 25 degrees Celsius. Given that the temperature drops to -5 degrees Celsius in winter, this is no small feat.
The use of miners’ waste heat is therefore well suited for indoor plant cultivation. According to one researcher, a data center with a power of 1 megawatt can increase self-sufficiency by up to 8%, as competitive products are brought to the market.
Not everyone is so enthusiastic
Something must be done regarding the efficient use of excess heat because there are already people who are directly affected by the problem. In New York state’s Seneca Lake area, for example, residents complain that the cooperation of a nearby power plant and more than 8,000 miners has turned the lake into a hot whirlpool.
Our related article: Can the bitcoin system work without mining?
The power plant takes more than half a million cubic meters of water from the lake every day and returns 15,000 cubic meters less. Meanwhile, the water used heats up to 42 degrees Celsius in the summer months. Although a solution to this problem might still be found, until then it must be realized that miners sometimes really negatively affect certain communities and their environment.
Sustainable energy sources must continue to be sought
Whatever we do with the excess heat generated by miners, we’ve still only solved the smaller half of the problem. If the energy produced for mining comes from a non-sustainable source, then all we get is a multifunctional thermal power plant.
Therefore, if we replace other heat sources with the heat of the Bitcoin mining machine – while the latter comes from the same source – we do not achieve a change overall.
On the other hand, if we take over waste heat from miners who themselves obtained electricity from a sustainable source, we might take a much bigger step towards greening the mining industry.
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