[mrb]

Please realize that Argentina uses slightly more energy than a single hydroelectric power station like the Itaipu Dam (103 TWh/year).

A single dam.

So, really the comparison is more a testament of how little electricity Argentina uses.

[fifilura]

That is not just any "single" dam, but the world's second largest.

The largest dam in Sweden, which is my reference, a country where hydro is the biggest source of electricity, produces 2TWh/y.

(And sadly much of that energy now goes to heavily subsidized Facebook and Google servers because it is cool to have those companies in your town, and collect income tax from the 10-ish people that work there)

[Symbiote]

That is the second largest hydroelectric dam is the world.

Pick the Netherlands instead for the comparison, which has similar consumption to Argentina.

[mrb]

That is still a single dam.

A whole country could be powered by a single dam.

[fifilura]

The number of places where you can build a dam is limited, and when you find one it is not unlikely that you have to relocate > 1 million people to build it (Three Gorges Dam). That is on the other side of the scale you are talking about.

[mrb]

The point is about making a comparison. When Bitcoin's energy consumption is equaled to that of a single dam, it just doesn't seem that impressive.