[Symbiote]

> In the short term, flexible power production like coal generation

Coal power is the least flexible way to generate power.

> It has the benefit of being able to be turned on and off practically instantly.

No, the opposite.

> There is no economic incentive to build out sustainable generative capacity if it won't be running all the time,

Of course there is.

And anyway, the article is about using an old coal power plant to mine bitcoin. 1000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a day, without the bitcoin the plant would have been shut down.

[zekrioca]

Why do you say coal is the least flexible way to produce energy? As compared to what, hydro, nuclear, solar,…?

The article mentions all the incentives US states have been using to attract Bitcoin mining (after China banned it), so maybe this was a ‘clever’ trick from the fossil fuel industry to keep itself alive. And what is the most flexible load to quickly make use of such incentives? Bitcoin mining it turns out, but it could have been something else. Start pricing the [lb][g]CO2Eq/kWh and then see what will happen.