FROM WATTS TO WEALTH

This current year, 2024, has been the year of Bitcoin. Since the approval of Bitcoin ETFs, which established themselves as the fastest growing ETF of all time in terms of adoption, the digital currency has been pivotal talk in the media, Wall Street, and even in the US presidential election about a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve endorsed by president Donald Trump and the at the time independent candidate RFK Jr.

What is Bitcoin mining?

Bitcoin presents itself as a P2P payment systems solution, a truly decentralized open project of a monetary way of exchange with a fixed supply.

Like gold mining, for example, Bitcoins are mined through a PoW consensus mechanism that requires substantial computing power to settle a transaction (a block). Millions of machines worldwide use absurd amounts of energy to process enough power to solve cryptographic puzzles. Miners this way, receive in exchange for verifying a transaction, block subsides, miners fees, and the freshly mined bitcoin itself

The exact number of energy usage regarding mining operations is not clear, but it is clear that it consumes more electricity than most countries.

While its energy usage is undeniable, the high consumption is not a flaw but a deliberate design choice that ensures decentralization and security. Surprisingly, Bitcoin mining can be seen as an opportunity to support renewable energy growth, stabilize power grids, and reduce wasted energy

Empowering Developing Economies: Bitcoin Mining and the Stranded Energy Revolution

Bitcoin mining is evolving into a catalyst for renewable energy adoption and electrification in developing countries. In Africa, for example, around 600 million people, or approximately 43% of the total population, lack fundamental access to electricity, and these places are abundant in natural resources. However, there is no capital incentive to power these people and the existing mini-grids are dependent on philanthropy and concessional finance.

Bitcoin mining can provide electricity to people by making small-scale energy projects more financially viable. When companies like Gridless set up Bitcoin mining operations in places like Keyna and Malawi, they use excess or stranded energy that otherwise goes to waste because it isn’t cost-effective to sell or distribute it to the national grid. The revenue from mining helps subsidize the installation of energy infrastructure.

Contrary to a lot of pre-existing beliefs, once this infrastructure is built, the local population benefits from the newly available electricity, often at a lower cost. This price reduction occurs because miners consistently demand otherwise wasted energy. By purchasing this surplus, they provide a steady revenue stream to the energy producers. This increased overall energy utilization allows providers to distribute their fixed costs over a larger volume of sold electricity, enabling them to lower prices for all consumers.

Miners, because are competing in a truly open market ( due to their decentralization), are constantly competing for the cheapest forms of energy to process blocks. This means that they thrive in areas like these by taking advantage of renewables, as much as any in another place when the generated energy is not being fully utilized.

Another type of stranded energy is the flared gas that comes with many types of petroleum deposits. If the quantity is low enough to not be economically justifiable to invest in pipelines to transfer this energy, it gets wasted into the atmosphere, mainly as methane and C02, contributing to global greenhouse gases. That’s about 150 TWh of energy for the year, which is about the estimated total level of Bitcoin’s annualized energy usage in 2024.

Bitcoin miners can buy this energy, since it’s cheap, reduces methane emissions, and generates economic activity from externalities that would be wasted. While using flared or vented gas reduces methane emissions and provides economic utility, it still results in CO2 emissions from combustion. Therefore, it’s not a zero-emission solution but is an improvement over uncontrolled venting or flaring.

Demand response programs

Historically, energy supply adjusted to demand but with the growing adoption of electricity and rising concerns about the environmental impact and scarcity of fossil fuels, society is transitioning to renewable energy sources. This shift has created a mixed grid comprising both fossil fuels and renewable energy. However, the inherent instability of renewable energy results in fluctuating prices—from high costs during periods of scarcity to negative prices during times of abundance.

Maintaining grid stability necessitates a balance between demand and generation, with frequency serving as an indicator of this equilibrium. As renewable energy usage increases, the challenge lies in ensuring grid resilience and balance while accommodating the variability of renewable energy generation.

Demand response programs are commonly employed to address this issue by incentivizing certain grid participants to reduce electricity usage during periods of high demand, thereby maintaining a balanced and stable grid.

The problem is that few industries possess a large enough demand for electricity or the ability to adapt their usage quickly. Bitcoin miners emerge as uniquely suited to this purpose because of their flexible and interruptible load providing 24-hour automated and instant responses to the grid needs. ( curtailing energy during peak demand or absorbing it excess supply). This is already happening and being used in Texas ( USA) Sichuan Province (China) and Quebec (Canada,) for example, and is showing a glimpse of what the future of grid management can be.

Follows a visual comparison of the most commonly used DR programs.Historically, energy supply adjusted to demand.

Conclusion

While the theoretical benefits of Bitcoin mining as a driver of renewable energy adoption and grid stability are compelling, its practical application still faces significant challenges. The scalability and reliability of these methods remain largely untested, given the industry’s rapid and unpredictable evolution. Additionally, barriers such as a lack of public awareness, high initial capital requirements, and Bitcoin’s inherent price volatility deter traditional institutions from embracing these opportunities.

However, as the sector matures, Bitcoin mining has the potential to redefine energy markets. By incentivizing renewable energy investments, optimizing electricity usage, and repurposing stranded energy, it could drive innovation and enhance efficiency in the global energy sector. Furthermore, its capacity to provide economic opportunities in underserved regions highlights its transformative potential beyond the financial realm.