Bitcoin Mining May Not Be as Effective at Accelerating the Move to Green Energy as Its Advocates Claim, Researchers Find

Scientists at Witten/Herdecke University looked at how Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are impacting the transition to green and renewable energy sources.

Researchers have found that using Bitcoin mining to accelerate the shift to green energy sources might not be as effective as its proponents claim.

Scientists from Witten/Herdecke University examined how Bitcoin and cryptocurrency influence the transition to green and renewable energy sources, as stated in a press release. They discovered that while cryptocurrency can help speed up the transition to renewable energy in the short term, it can slow it down in the long term, causing significant environmental damage and pollution.

According to the study, proponents of Bitcoin mining claim that diverting excess renewable energy, which the grid does not require, into the cryptocurrency harvesting process will help accelerate the implementation of renewable energy by adding a higher profit margin for power companies, incentivizing them to include more green energy in their portfolios.

However, the study suggests that while the focus on renewable energy could reduce greenhouse gas pollution, it creates other major problems that won't help address environmental concerns. The cheaper energy could lead to an increase in people mining crypto, which would create more electronic waste.

Moreover, the ability to shunt excess energy into cryptomining could disincentivize companies from investing in long-term clean-energy solutions, such as storage technologies, grid improvements, and better infrastructure, while also failing to provide sufficient incentive for those companies to shift away from dirty energy sources in addition to the renewable ones.

"In the long term, Bitcoin mining could slow down the actual goal of the energy transition — the switch to renewable energies," says Maximilian Gill, one of the researchers on the project.

Why is Bitcoin's energy impact important?

The cryptocurrency industry is booming, but scientists continue to raise serious concerns about its impact. Bitcoin and other digital currency mining is a highly energy-intensive process, consuming vast amounts of electricity. In Iran, illicit crypto mining has been linked to blackouts in Tehran, the country's capital.

Officials in the European country of Georgia have also asked residents to stop crypto operations due to the massive strain it puts on the grid.

These operations often rely on dirty energy sources and divert resources away from citizens who need the power.

What's being done to help?

Cryptocurrency miners like HIVE Digital Technologies have been pushing to include more renewable energy in their operations, and countries like El Salvador have built entire green industries around their crypto efforts.

However, as this study demonstrates, much more must be done to create any real, tangible societal benefit from digital mining.

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