The trend in global energy use takes on a greener color as the years go by. Yes ok It remains to be seen if the objectives of the Kyoto treaty for 2030 are achieved or if the Horizon 2050 proposed by the EU is viable, the efforts of numerous institutions are working to reduce the carbon footprint of all the services we use on a daily basis with the introduction of green technology and renewable energy sources. In this article, we discuss the consequences of greener energy cryptocurrency mining and the use of renewables in the industry as well as the potential benefits of their adoption.
Every country should take advantage of the natural renewable energy sources available to it.
Spain has many hours of sunlight per year in a large number of locations, so solar energy is very close at hand to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Also, wind power is also available in the plains or coastal areas of the country. Among renewable sources, 46.7% of electricity was generated last year according to statistics. In other countries, like In the Alpine area, hydroelectric power plants represent the main source of renewable energy. to produce green electricity.
Miners harnessing green energy to mine BTC
HydroMiner is one of the companies working to harness renewables to power high-power computers, CPUs, and servers running 24 hours a day. Since the mining process of BTC and other cryptocurrencies requires a lot of energy, the competitive advantage of miners lies in being able to get hold of a cheap source of electricity. To solve mathematical problems by trial and error that enable the new blocks in the bitcoin blockchain, considerable computational power is necessary. Unlike other companies, miners using renewables can claim to operate without harming the environment or contributing to climate change.
Currently, the computers that solve these puzzles consume approximately 0.16 percent of the world’s electricity consumption. In February 2020, as much electricity was consumed as in the rest of the world a few years ago. Obviously, it is not a viable system in the long term without the use of green energy. “I don’t think it’s realistic or sustainable“said Garrick Hileman, a blockchain researcher at the University of Cambridge, “something will have to give at some point“.
The use of renewable energy is a competitive advantage
“You need cheap energy to power your hardware“, said HydroMiner co-founder and CEO Nadine Damblon. By locating next to where the electricity is produced, the company can pay just 4-6 euro cents per kilowatt, allowing it to accumulate more than $300,000 of benefits per month.”Hydropower is the best renewable energy we could findDamblon added.
Bitcoin can only work if it changes the way it operates, some researchers say. Otherwise, mining will increase energy consumption from all sources, including coal and nuclear power. However, renewables are already at a level of development in which they can be presented as efficient alternatives. It’s more, multinationals like Tesla support the use of renewables to power the global electric car fleet, reducing, on average, the industry’s carbon footprint.
“Since the goal of renewables expansion is not to promote them per se, but rather to reduce the use of fossil fuels, the demand for Bitcoin is detrimental to the environment, even if part of it is met by renewables expansion.said John Quiggin, a research economist at the University of Queensland in Australia.
Why is it necessary to implement renewable energies?
Current global warming is taking place at such a rapid rate that ecosystems do not have time to adapt. A variation of 1º Celsius is enough to wreak havoc on biomes and it is estimated that around 2º C could trigger irreversible consequences and mass extinctions. This phenomenon affects all ecosystems in the world, as they are interconnected by air and sea currents. Although there is a margin of decades before reaching a critical level, the positive side is that technologies advance in such a way that more effective techniques can be implemented.
New alternatives like solid-state batteries could dramatically improve performance of the batteries we use in devices and cars in the years to come. In this sense, what is reasonable is that the mining industry also adapts to the times that run and assume the responsibility that corresponds to it. In addition, the use of renewables usually receives incentives from governments since each industry that reduces its carbon footprint contributes to the achievement of the objectives of the agreements to mitigate climate change.
On the other hand, although it might seem that fossil fuels’ days are numbered, it is possible that new deposits will be found or that previously unprofitable ones will become exploitable. Most likely, we will see the world’s energy sources coexist with a growing market for renewables as fossil fuels decline – ideally – over time. This process could last several decades and favor the development of new techniques to make better use of energy, also favoring new mining facilities.
- Graph of global temperature change in the last 50 years worldwide. Source: Wikipedia
As can be seen in the graph above, there are areas of the world most affected by global warming, reaching 2º C at the North Pole and other areas. It is in these areas where the effects of melting ice and extinctions are being manifested in various species of animals and plants. For all these reasons, the global responsibility to use energy that reduces the emission of carbon dioxide, one of the main greenhouse gases, falls on everyone. In this sense, Bitcoin mining with renewables is a necessary step towards sustainable scalability and, as we have seen, it offers competitive advantages for companies that adopt it.
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