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Twitter debates the role of renewable energy in Bitcoin mining

April 5, 2022No Comments


It all started with a tweet from Dennis Porter, self-described Bitcoin advocate and podcast host, which sparked a heady debate about renewable energy and the role of Bitcoin miners. Porter claimed that Bitcoin (BTC) creates incentives to build renewable energy, but environmental scientist Peter Gleick dismissed the statement as a "self-serving lie".

The comments section heated up when Nic Carter, general partner at Castle Island Ventures and co-founder of Coin Metrics, came into the chat and called out Gleick for allegedly not knowing anything about energy.

Carter proceeded to explain how energy markets work and defend the use of cryptocurrencies in a thread of tweets. He first refuted Porter's claim that every kilowatt-hour, or KWh, of renewable energy "is already being used productively, and Bitcoin diverts that use." He argued that Porter is wrong in saying that every unit of energy is being used, citing market reports showing negative energy prices or restricted energy that "has no economically productive use."

He pointed readers to initiatives led by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, an organization that operates most of the Texas power grid with excess supply. In a presentation he gave at the Texas Blockchain Summit last year, he said said that Bitcoin mining can improve the economics of renewable energy projects.

Related: Texas Should Use Bitcoin Mining to Capture Wasted Natural Gas: Senator Ted Cruz

According to Carter, bitcoin mining has given wind and solar facilities the ability to absorb any excess supply that cannot be sold. Any energy that tends to go to waste when the generator stops exporting to the grid or even temporarily shuts down can be offset to mine Bitcoin. He added that there is already a movement of miners connecting to grids at wind farms and being able to buy power during off-peak periods or when prices are high, giving households better access at times of high demand. He called on critics of him to appreciate these miners who are currently evaluating how economically viable the infrastructure can be.

With over 400 comments, the thread was packed with commenters who sided with Carter and Gleick, or asked for clarification and additional reading material. A user, "@SGBarbour" who builds bitcoin mines agreed with Porter that bitcoin miners "do not incentivize renewables" but instead "help undo capital in unreliable generation." So while Barbour agreed that mining is good, he doesn't think it fixes the fact that "so much capital has been wasted installing unreliable power generation like wind and solar," he said. set in a Substack article.

In contrast, another user โ€œ@jyn_ursoโ€, a recently converted Bitcoin advocate and climate change physicist, clapped Carter for "introducing another great thread on how energy markets work." Based on his previous tweets, he believes that community and individual level solutions like Bitcoin mining can help accelerate the transition to renewable energy and lessen reliance on political structures to do so.

Overall, this debate shows how Bitcoin and energy use are widely misunderstood. The disagreement over whether Bitcoin represents a good use of unused energy remains to be proven. A growing number of scientists and climate change advocates are open to considering that the energy consumption of Bitcoin could unlock renewable energy gains.

Carter ended up changing his Twitter name to 'nic carter no credentials' after Gleick pointed out his different academic degrees and experience in energy. Another Carter supporter stepped in to mock Gleick for using his authoritative status as evidence to assert the truth.

One country that is setting an example for Bitcoin miners is Norway. A recent government report shows that Norway's electricity mix is โ€‹โ€‹100% renewable, giving miners there access to completely green and cheap electricity, especially hydropower.