Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by Melingo 1178 days ago
That's the problem not a solution.

This should incentive people to build energy storage not burn through it...

1 comments

I would be all for innovating new grid scale energy storage technologies.

Until we have those, Bitcoin mining results in more renewable energy investment, not less.

In the meantime are you arguing we should ban Bitcoin mining and eliminate the subsidy that enables us to build out renewables?

How is the world better off with less renewable energy investment?

It blocks renewables.

It consumes them.

Show me a real project which actually had a energy net positive and don't show me all those garbage green washing papers from Bitcoin companies which do not proof any of this.

Here is an example from the Guardian explaining how the contracts are designed between Bitcoin mining companies and Texas power companies.

It describes exactly the scenario I described where miners negotiate long-term contracts at low electricity rates in exchange for miners agreeing to turn off on short notice during periods of high demand.

As a result, energy companies are able to justify investing in highly variable wind and solar power, knowing that they have long-term commitments for this wind power even during periods of low demand.

The wind often blows hardest at night when there isn’t sufficient demand to justify the investment otherwise.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/aug/17/bitcoin-c...