Bitcoin mining touted as solution for UK’s renewable energy goals

Bitcoin Policy UK, a crypto advocacy group in the United Kingdom, has urged the new administration to consider Bitcoin mining to bolster the country’s renewable energy grid.

Bitcoin mining involves creating new bitcoins by solving complex math problems that verify transactions. A KPMG report stated that Bitcoin mining helps to stabilize power grids and utilizes underused renewable energy sources.

Notably, this view is similar to that of Pablo Vegas, the CEO of the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), who recently suggested that Bitcoin miners can help enhance the state’s grid stability.

Why Bitcoin mining

In the report, Bitcoin Policy UK highlighted the need for the UK’s electricity grid to adapt to the rising demand and intermittency due to electrification and renewable energy generation.

It stated:

“Bitcoin mining is the only technology which provides a completely
elastic demand for spare renewable energy, setting a ‘floor’ price
and monetising supply that would otherwise be un-utilised or even
curtailed at cost.”

The group continued that Bitcoin mining can enhance the competitiveness of renewable energy and provide demand-side response (DSR) capability with millisecond response times.

Furthermore, the group claims that Bitcoin mining would not require subsidies or government payments. Instead, it would use stranded energy to lower unit prices by increasing the UK’s share of green energy supply.

Additionally, the report suggests that adopting mining will create more robust business cases, provide assured revenues, and increase green energy. It will also improve grid resilience, enabling a healthy overbuild of renewables.

The report added:

“It solves the problem of the commercial viability of the UK’s Energy Security Strategy targets, as renewable energy providers can be assured there is a buyer for all the energy they produce, and their projects will not suffer from lack of utilisation.”

Moreover, this initiative could reduce energy consumption costs and allow the UK government to earn more from miners’ energy usage.

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