Solar crypto mining online
Blockchain technology shows promise for sectors ranging from banking to logistics. In the world of sustainability , it's being considered for applications from energy trading schemes to supply chain transparency to food safety. However, as people envision hope-filled plans for how it could change the world, they often overlook blockchain's non-sustainable energy consumption. Discussions of that downside typically center on the electricity consumption used for cryptocurrency mining — which uses almost as much energy per year as Ireland. It also doesn't help that cryptocurrency miners invest in more powerful and resource-dependent computer equipment to succeed compared to their peers.
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Content:
- Powering Bitcoin Miners with Stranded Carbon
- Solar-Powered Crypto Mining with Raspberry Pi
- Panic as Kosovo pulls the plug on its energy-guzzling bitcoin miners
- Square to invest $5 mln in Blockstream's solar-powered bitcoin mining facility
- Business Tech
- Is Bitcoin Inherently Bad for the Environment?
- Solar-Powered Crypto Mining: Cryptocurrency Mining With Solar Panels
Powering Bitcoin Miners with Stranded Carbon
Summer on Seneca Lake, the largest of the Finger Lakes in upstate New York, is usually a time of boating, fishing, swimming and wine tasting. But for many residents of this bucolic region, there's a new activity this season — protesting a gas-fired power plant that they say is polluting the air and heating the lake.
They have increased the electrical power output at the gas-fired plant in the past year and a half and use much of the fossil-fuel energy not to keep the lights on in surrounding towns but for the energy-intensive "mining" of bitcoins.
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency — a digital form of money with no actual bills or coins. The computers earn small rewards of bitcoin by verifying transactions in the currency that occur on the internet around the world. The math required to verify the transactions and earn bitcoins gets more complex all the time and demands more and more computer power.
An estimate from the University of Cambridge says global bitcoin miners use more energy in a year than Chile. When the energy comes from fossil fuels, the process can add significantly to carbon emissions. The Greenidge plant houses at least 8, computers and is looking to install more, meaning it will have to burn even more natural gas to produce more energy. Private equity firms like Atlas buy companies, often using debt, and hope to sell them later at a profit.
They are secretive operations with investments that can be hard to track. As investor criticism prompts some public companies to dump fossil fuel assets, private equity firms are ready buyers. In a report last fall, the Environmental Assessment Office, a provincial agency, said the project failed to comply on 16 of 17 items inspected. As a result, Coastal GasLink was ordered to hire an independent auditor to monitor its work to prevent site runoff that can pollute streams and harm fish.
Because private equity firms expect to hold their investments for only a few years, they often keep alive fossil-fuel operations that would otherwise be mothballed, said Tyson Slocum, director of the energy program at Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group. In , for instance, the private equity firm ArcLight Capital Partners of Boston bought into Limetree Bay, an oil refinery and storage facility in St. Croix in the U. Virgin Islands.
The operation had gone bankrupt after a series of toxic spills, but it reopened in February. Just three months later, it was shuttered after it unleashed petroleum rain on nearby neighborhoods.
A spokeswoman for ArcLight said the firm "takes its responsibilities to protect the environment and support local communities seriously and will continue to strive to meet the highest standards. Because private equity firms are secretive, their investors may not know what they own or the risks, said Alyssa Giachino of the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, a nonprofit organization that examines the industry's impact on communities.
She said pension funds and their beneficiaries may end up with more fossil fuel exposure than they realize and may not have a full appreciation of the risks. They include heavy impacts on communities of color, risks of litigation and environmental penalties and long-term climate effects, she said.
KKR is a huge energy investor on behalf of endowments, public pensions and other institutional investors. Like many of its private equity brethren, KKR has deployed far more money in conventional energy assets like the Coastal GasLink Pipeline than in renewables. KKR didn't dispute those figures in emails. KKR's spokeswoman said the firm is "committed to investing in a stable energy transition, one that supports a shift to a clean energy future while recognizing the ongoing importance of supplying the conventional energy needed for well-being and economic growth around the world today.
KKR recently added a team focused on energy transition investments in North America. Private equity investors sometimes "leave behind messes for someone else to clean up," said Clark Williams-Derry, energy analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. The lakeshore facility is operating within its federal and state environmental permits, he said, and it has created 31 jobs, a company-commissioned report shows.
Williams-Derry said cryptocurrency's potential profits add to the appeal of buying low-cost and carbon-intensive power plants. While natural gas-fired plants like Greenidge's in New York aren't as problematic as those that use coal, they still generate damaging greenhouse gases, he said. Kirt said that after Greenidge took over the plant, it sought ways to earn higher returns on its surplus energy. It struck gold with bitcoin mining.
During the 12 months that ended Feb. Greenidge's owner, the private equity firm Atlas, is on a roll. Atlas bought the acre coal-fired Greenidge plant in , three years after it had closed. Converted to natural gas, the almost year-old plant began operations in , generating energy to the grid only at times of high demand.
In , Greenidge began using the plant to power bitcoin mining and increased its output. It still supplies surplus power to the local electrical grid, but a lot of the power it generates is now used for bitcoin mining. And it has plans for expansion at Greenidge and elsewhere, company documents show. Last week, Greenidge announced a new bitcoin mining operation at a retired printing plant Atlas owns in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
In March, Greenidge said its Bitcoin mining capacity of 19 megawatts should reach 45 megawatts by December and may ramp to megawatts by as it replicates its model elsewhere. Larger gas-fired plants in the U. Also in March, Greenidge announced a merger with Support. The deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter of this year, will give Atlas control of the merged company and access to public investor money.
Andrew Bursky, founder of Atlas, owns half to three-quarters of Atlas, a regulatory filing shows. Neither Atlas nor Bursky would comment for this article. Greenidge, which disputes that view, said last month that its operations would soon be carbon neutral. It is buying credits that offset the plant's emissions from an array of U.
Judith Enck, a former regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency who is a senior fellow and visiting faculty member at Bennington College in Vermont, has doubts. So far, legal challenges to the Greenidge operation have failed. Materials issued by Greenidge say state environmental authorities have determined that the plant "does not have a significant impact on the environment.
Still, emissions from the plant are rocketing. At the end of last year, even though it was operating at only 13 percent capacity, the plant's carbon dioxide equivalent emissions totaled , tons, up from 28, tons in January, according to regulatory documents Earth Justice received under an open records request.
Before it began mining bitcoins, the plant generated carbon emissions of , tons in and 39, tons in , federal documents show. On June 5, residents staged a protest against the plant at a nearby Department of Environmental Conservation office in Avon. If regulators don't rein in the Greenidge plant, they say, 30 other power plants in New York could be converted to bitcoin mining, imperiling the state's emission-reduction goals. As the greenhouse gas emissions associated with this type of facility may be precedential and have broader implications beyond New York's borders, DEC will consult with the U.
Water usage by Greenidge is another problem, residents said. The current permit allows Greenidge to take in million gallons of water and discharge million gallons daily, at temperatures as high as degrees Fahrenheit in the summer and 86 degrees in winter, documents show. Rising water temperatures can stress fish and promote toxic algae blooms, the EPA says. A full thermal study hasn't been produced and won't be until , but residents protesting the plant say the lake is warmer with Greenidge operating.
Greenidge recently published average discharged water temperatures from March 1 to April 17, during the trout spawning season; they were around 46 degrees to 54 degrees, with differences between inflow and outflow of 5 degrees to 7.
From June 7 to July 6, Greenidge said, water temperatures recorded at a buoy about 10 miles north of the Greenidge plant and at a depty of three-and-a-half feet have averaged The low of 61 degrees occurred on June 7 and the high of 73 was recorded on July 1. Over longer periods, temperatures have spiked, however. NBC News reviewed a February email from the DEC to a resident stating that since , the plant's daily maximum discharge temperatures have been 98 degrees in the summer and 70 degrees in winter.
The Greenidge spokesperson said, "The limits already protect the lake's fishery and the public health, and they have been clearly validated as not concerning. Not everyone wants Greenidge gone. Gwen Chamberlain, a former local newspaper editor, is one of three members of a community advisory board working with Greenidge to advance the region's economy.
Peter Mantius, a former journalist who writes about environmental politics in the region , said the payments, while greater than zero, are far less than what the plant once generated, thanks to a favorable tax assessment arrangement.
Meanwhile, residents like Buddington feel compelled to keep fighting. IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. NBC News Logo. News World Opinion Business Newsletter sign-up. Search Search. Follow NBC News. Link copied. By Gretchen Morgenson. Power plant repurposed to mine bitcoins July 4, Inside one of the country's largest cryptocurrency mines Part 1 July 5, Inside one of the country's largest cryptocurrency mines Part 2 July 5, Gretchen Morgenson.
Solar-Powered Crypto Mining with Raspberry Pi
Bitcoin mining is designed to be similar to gold mining in many ways. Bitcoin mining and gold mining are both energy intensive, and both have the potential to generate a handsome monetary reward. Bitcoin mining is a highly complex computing process that uses complicated computer code to create a secure cryptographic system. Similar to the secret codes used by governments and spies, the cryptography used for mining generates Bitcoin, facilitates Bitcoin transactions, and tracks asset ownership of the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin mining supports the Bitcoin database, which is called the blockchain. Bitcoin miners are not people with picks and shovels, but rather owners of sophisticated computing equipment. Bitcoin miners compete to be the first to verify Bitcoin transactions, and earn rewards paid in Bitcoin.
Panic as Kosovo pulls the plug on its energy-guzzling bitcoin miners
A sustainable bitcoin mining and energy technology company that is solving modern energy challenges. Soaring rate increases from centralized power companies. Increasing natural disasters related to climate change. Growing uncertainty surrounding macroeconomic conditions. Your home or business is unique—the system you choose to manage your energy needs should be unique too. Our solutions are customized to keep you connected to the things in your home and the people in your life that matter most to you. CleanSpark established the CleanSpark Scholarship for Technological Innovation at Gwinnett Technical College for five students seeking an associate degree in the computer sciences program. A recent Bloomberg article about resilient crypto miners features CleanSpark and includes quotes from executive chairman Matt Schultz.
Square to invest $5 mln in Blockstream's solar-powered bitcoin mining facility
All the entries consist of innovative projects run by existing enterprises in the form of businesses, NGOs or informal programs. Simba Development Consultants. ASCMFs expected benefits are: forex revenue from Bitcoin, employment for 20 people from the local community besides free internet access, free mobile phone charging and ICT training, all of which are considered catalysts for sustainable development. ASCMF's 1-megawatt solar project life is projected at 25 years at the cost of about 5 cents per kilowatt-hour or less substantially less than approximately 10 cents per kilowatt-hour of Kenya's power grid.
Business Tech
Over the past 10 years, the demand for cryptocurrencies has skyrocketed like very few other trade commodities. Today, the total cryptocurrency market cap has reached over three trillion dollars and the price for Bitcoin in early was nearly double what it was a year prior. The increase in price for these online currencies has prompted hysterical demands, encouraging millions of people to try their slice of the crypto pie - without understanding, or considering, the collateral environmental impact. Many social and environmental activists have called out that cryptocurrency is detrimental to the environment and has a high carbon footprint. Why is cryptocurrency bad for the environment?
Is Bitcoin Inherently Bad for the Environment?
Cryptocurrency mining is a difficult and costly activity. Miners must pay to build rigs capable of vast amounts of processing power, and then the rigs themselves must be powered with large quantities of electricity. It's all a careful balance between how much the operation costs and how much profit it is able to generate. With mining operations for Ethereum, one of the leading digital currencies on the market today, taking up the same share of electricity as that of a small country , miners have to be careful that they aren't spending more than they are making. Because of that, some mining operations have begun to look to solar-powered rigs, set up in the desert, in order to reduce mining costs and make the largest profit possible. Mining operations with the tools and resources to be able to set up solar-powered rigs in the desert are finding that it is a good investment. Once you have paid for the solar panel system itself, the cost of mining is virtually free. Getting rid of a hefty electric bill which typically weighs down mining operations leaves more room for profit.
Solar-Powered Crypto Mining: Cryptocurrency Mining With Solar Panels
Bitcoin has attracted the attention of cryptocurrency investors, climate campaigners, and energy experts alike. The currency has been reported to use an awful lot of energy; it currently consumes around TW hours per year, placing it at 0. But can bitcoin mining and renewables work together for a more stable grid and a conscious spending of energy?
Downpours transform the mottled landscape into lush emerald, while azaleas bloom and migrating cranes and storks begin the long journey back north. The rainfall also brings trucks stacked with computers to hydropower dams, where entrepreneurs can tap cheap electricity for mining bitcoin—the arcane process that accumulates the cryptocurrency using huge amounts of computing power to solve equations. Cryptocurrency mining requires huge amounts of computing power, making energy consumption a major overhead for the industry. Local governments will often offer power for pennies—or even free—to attract jobs and get a painless boost to their gross domestic product figures.
The cryptocurrency Bitcoin is known for its massive energy footprint. Now, researcher Alex de Vries, from PricewaterhouseCoopers PwC in the Netherlands, suggests that renewable hydropower production cannot supply the large quantities of energy needed to power machinery used to validate Bitcoin transactions. In a Commentary publishing March 14 in the journal Joule , he also highlights the vast quantities of electronic waste produced by the Bitcoin network and calls for alternative strategies to curb the cryptocurrency's environmental impact. He also estimates that Bitcoin consumed as much electrical energy as all of Hungary in The problem lies primarily in the Bitcoin mining mechanism, in which "miners" use high-powered technology to search for valid numerical signatures that allow Bitcoin blocks files recording Bitcoin transactions to join the growing list of Bitcoin transaction records known as the "blockchain. Using publicly available information about the computational power of the Bitcoin network and the efficiency and material composition of mining machines, de Vries identified major problems with reliance on renewable energy. Once a Bitcoin machine is activated, it is not shut down until it fails to continue operating profitably.
As a simple one-GPU bitcoin miner, the recent growth in ASIC Application specific integrated circuit bitcoin mining hardware has been a real gamechanger. In my case, there are some disadvantages to the change, namely having to spend the few bitcoins I have mined on new hardware and having to wait a long time for it to arrive. That said, it does provide a number of opportunities to me, which is why this page even exists. The biggest opportunity presented is the chance to retire my GPU from mining.
I’m thinking, where did you get the material for this article? Is it really out of my head?