Bitcoin, which threatens energy, can solve energy problems[Column]| coindesk JAPAN | Coindesk Japan

Regardless of your position on Bitcoin, one thing is certain. In other words, Bitcoin is creating innovation that will enable not only the financial industry, but multiple industries to break the status quo. From healthcare to energy, the innovations and ideas that come out of the bitcoin industry will change the important pillars that support society for the better.

However, there is the problem of greenhouse gases… We hear a lot about how energy-intensive bitcoin mining has a negative impact on the environment. Most of the claims are based on one report.

Conversely, what is rarely talked about is that the environmental impact of bitcoin mining is due to its energy consumption, which directly reflects the existing energy mix (power supply configuration). Bitcoin mining companies are connected to the same power grid as other industries, and manufacturing accounts for 81% of energy consumption among US industries, of which chemical manufacturers account for 37%.

But remember seeing politicians tweet about chemical manufacturers’ energy consumption?

Turn a pinch into a chance

We should be fully aware that the characteristics of Bitcoin, which consumes a large amount of energy and desires cheap electricity, are opportunities for innovation.

Bitcoin offers a solution to one of the most pressing challenges of our time: climate change. Banning bitcoin or trying to force it to die out through taxation will not solve America’s problems with the energy mix and grid stability. Conversely, supporting bitcoin and bitcoin mining may be the solution.

The enormous energy needs of the bitcoin mining industry are exactly what the US needs to lead the renewable energy revolution and upgrade its power grid. The U.S. government has stabilized the supply problem with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), but the demand problem remains.

Renewable energy supplies are intermittent, transmission is limited, and existing energy sources are not designed to be flexible. There is already adjustable demand for electricity in the form of mining at no cost to taxpayers, so spending tens of billions of dollars to support fossil fuel-based adjustable energy is wrong. It seems that

Simply put, we cannot rely solely on renewable energy to reach our decarbonisation goals. Nor can we vaguely expect the existing power grid to remain stable without improving it or supporting its infrastructure.

Coordinate power demand and supply

That’s where Bitcoin comes in.

In bitcoin mining, a lot of money and a lot of effort goes into developing new ways to interact with electricity, new financial technologies, new ways to connect with each other, and new software to interact seamlessly with the power grid. ing. The Bitcoin mining industry is filled with creative, strategic people focused on accessing cheap electricity and with financial incentives to work closely with electricity supply and demand. there is

Some Bitcoin industry insiders are figuring out how to flip the power consumption paradigm. Aspen Creek Digital Corporation (ACDC), a high-performance computing facility of which I am CEO, is transforming the enormous energy needs of mining into new renewable energy assets such as solar, wind and storage batteries. is used to support

ACDC will support the installation of 3 gigawatts of photovoltaic energy installations over the next three years. This is equivalent to the power consumption of 6 million households. ACDC’s facilities are powered by renewable energy far in excess of needs, allowing surplus new and clean electricity to be sent to the grid. ACDC’s Texas facility consumes only 30 megawatts of the 87 megawatts of solar-generated power. The rest are sent to Houston.

ACDC facilities act like giant batteries for the grid, consuming more power when demand is low and supplying power to homes and communities when they need it, such as during storms and heat waves. . When winter storms hit Texas, ACDC proved the concept’s effectiveness by reducing power consumption. It also pumped solar power into the Houston grid, powering some 10,000 holiday homes.

The common enemy is the “status quo”

America’s aging power grid is hindering America from meeting its energy goals. Issues such as output curtailment, flexible power demand, and reassessment of the relationship between power generation and power consumption will only continue to gain more attention and need to be resolved. We need to harness renewable energy and innovations that fully unlock breakthroughs that will help solve the climate change problem. And Bitcoin, which is already in front of us, has already proven its effectiveness as a solution.

Everything from climate change technology to monetary policy will take us from where we are to where we should be. Innovation and growth take many forms, challenging and disrupting the status quo. Nothing is more effective in uniting people than a common enemy. We may all agree that the enemy is the status quo.

Ms. Alexandra DaCosta: CEO of Aspen Creek Digital Corporation (ACDC), a high-performance computing facility. Prior to joining ACDC, he spent 15 years on Wall Street, most recently as Head of ESG and Impact Investing at global financial group Cantor Fitzgerald.

｜Translation and editing: Akiko Yamaguchi, Takayuki Masuda
｜Image: Shutterstock
｜Original: Bitcoin Is a Threat to the Energy-Use Status Quo – and That’s a Good Thing