Bitcoin mining is often criticised for its high energy consumption, but Bitdeer’s capital market head and strategic initiative Jeff Laberge argued that the industry will play a key role in stabilizing the power grid. Masu.
Speaking of roundtables, Laberge addressed the misconception that Bitcoin mining is a waste, noting its ability to act as a “disruptable load” on the electrical grid.
“It’s a very powerful industry. Lalleju admitted. “But in a larger scheme of things it’s much lower than many other industries that use significantly more.”
Assuming that the average household consumes about 1,200 watts (1.2 kW) per household at any time, 20 gigawatts (GW) of electricity is enough to power around 15 million US homes a year. This amount of energy is comparable to powering 20 large nuclear power plants running at full capacity.
According to Laberge, Bitcoin Miners have unique benefits. Unlike most industrial power users, the grid can turn off the operation within minutes that requires a spike.
“What that means is that in certain areas, like Texas and PJM in Ohio, Pennsylvania, those areas can essentially send us out like a demand side battery.” He explained. “You can spontaneously reduce power during peak grids and actually bring that power back into the grid.”
Show host Rob Nelson noted that the concept is often difficult for outsiders to grasp.
“They said, ‘No, Bitcoin Miners use all this energy and all they do is create this digital thing,” Nelson said. “When I tell them I can move energy into the power grid, the utility actually works with big bitcoin miners, so they look at me like it’s pointless to me.”
But for Laberge, the relationship between miners and utilities is advantageous for both parties.
“Utility loves it, which means it’s a great asset,” he said. “If you’re a utility, what other options are you going to do at that peak? You’ll be firing a Peaker plant, natural gas, or a coal plant to balance its load.”
Instead of increasing supply, utilities claim that they benefit from having a stable fundamental demand for miners to voluntarily supply electricity when energy is needed elsewhere.
“A lot of research has been done. I think Texas A&M did something very good that shows that Bitcoin miners are actually very useful for the grid,” Laberge said.
Nelson added that in states like California, where rolling blackouts are commonplace, Bitcoin miners can help prevent these confusion by redirecting power to the grid.
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