Seven Trends in Bitcoin Mining and Energy – Bitcoin Magazine
This is an opinion piece by Ruda Pellini, co-founder and president of Arthur Mining.
The world is no longer the same – it is constantly changing. And this transformation is happening ever faster. In reality, the “new normal” is a constant transformation and the only certainty is change.
The information age came and with it several concepts had to be updated in order not to be destroyed by the new. Paradigm shifts are taking place all around us and anyone who does not understand this will quickly fall behind.
The changes that bitcoin has already brought and will continue to bring to the world are not just monetary. We are also facing a new energy revolution. And anyone who doesn’t keep up with new trends will be disrupted.
Thinking in this context, I’ve singled out seven energy market trends to help you anticipate what’s on the horizon and fast approaching.
1. Renewable energy will be widely adopted
The transition to renewable energy has reached a point of no return. As time goes on, this sector will become increasingly efficient. Today, in suitable locations, wind and solar energy are already the cheapest and most efficient ways to generate energy.
With public pressure for a cleaner energy matrix and more investment in research, this trend will be reinforced.
Another problem is that the perception that fossil fuels are stable sources of energy has suffered a setback with the invasion of Ukraine and its aftermath. While renewable energy generation can usually be done at or near points of consumption, oil and natural gas rely on large global producers, a complex supply chain and are more influenced by geopolitics.
The only fossil energy source that tends to remain competitive in the medium term as a form of energy production is natural gas.
Image source
2. Renewable energy production will be multimodal
A significant part of energy production in Brazil is hydropower. In addition, there are several reservoirs in the country that are basically flat surfaces, and since Brazil is a tropical country, they have a high degree of sunlight.
In the future, these reservoirs will be used as solar energy parks and will be integrated into the hydroelectric substation, which will allow the integration and transfer of this generated energy to the electrical grid. In windy locations, wind turbines will also be installed, which further increases the use of the business. This logic applies not only to Brazil, but to all countries where wind and solar energy are viable in the same region.
3. Distributed generation will be widely adopted
Until the beginning of the last decade, there was no distributed energy production around. Since then, this form of generation has seen exponential adoption. This trend will continue for a long time, as the penetration of this form of generation is still nascent.
In the future, individual consumers will be able to install their own solar panels on the roof of their homes or join small cooperatives, such as housing associations or clubs, and build small generators for electricity.
Image source
Source: Portal Solar
4. Waste of idle energy Trends to zero
In 2009, humanity invented a technology that made it possible to make money from stranded energy. The name of the technology? Bitcoin mining. Thanks to this process, it is now possible to convert energy into money, regardless of where the energy is located.
A clear example of this stranded energy revenue process is “natural gas burning associated with oil exploration,” AKA flaring. At present, most of this surplus gas is flared because it is not economically justifiable to use it. With bitcoin mining, this scenario has changed and there is a great tendency for this gas to be used to run bitcoin mining.
With that, a gas that was wasted became profitable. An example of this logic is Exxon starting a bitcoin mining pilot project in 2021.
The same logic can be applied to any other form of minimally available stranded energy, such as with biogas and from landfills and garbage dumps.
5. Electric grids will become more robust and energy will be cheaper for the consumer
Currently, electrical grids are designed to produce energy to meet peak demand. However, there is no viable way to store this energy and it is idle at most times when demand is not at its peak.
As a way to monetize surplus energy, bitcoin mining allows the construction of oversized networks. These networks will not need to be anchored in calculations that focus on avoiding waste and targeting the moment of peak demand, which always carries the risk of miscalculations and blackouts.
A consequence of this logic is that without the need to charge the end consumer for the production of surplus energy, the price of energy will drop considerably.
6. Bitcoin mining and energy sectors will merge
We currently think of bitcoin mining and energy sectors as two independent sectors, but in the future they will merge.
The characteristics of bitcoin mining make this activity attractive to the energy sector, which is observable in its inception. The logic presented in the item above suggests that power generators will adopt bitcoin mining as a way to monetize their idle energy.
7. Humanity’s energy production capacity will increase significantly, and with it the degree of human progress
The implications of the existence of a technology that makes it possible to monetize idle and stranded energy are broad and profound.
At present, humans are unable to benefit from a significant part of the energy they produce because it is not possible to transport and store this energy. Thanks to bitcoin mining, this logic will be reversed.
More energy sources in remote locations will become economically viable. Two clear examples of this are:
The absence of a consumer market near these places prevented these energy sources from being used by humanity. With the invention of a technology that makes it possible to monetize idle energy, this dynamic has changed.
This also means that the increase in demand for solar panels, wind turbines and other materials needed for energy production will generate more research and innovation in the sector and consequently make this equipment cheaper.
The third energy revolution
Finally, it is worth remembering that energy is the only universal currency. In other words, there is no poverty, but energy poverty. Likewise, having access to more energy will unlock a great revolution in humanity.
Our species has already taken two great evolutionary leaps related to unlocking different ways of using energy:
1. When we mastered fire and learned to cook, we began to consume more calories in less time, and with that our brains evolved.
2. When we began to gain access to energy stored and concentrated over millions of years by geological processes, so-called fossil fuels, we became an industrial society and our population exploded.
Monetizing idle and stranded energy capacity, whether solar in deserts, wind or geothermal potential on volcanic islands, will allow us to take the third evolutionary leap in energy use.
Tomorrow’s world will be a world with an abundance of energy, and therefore an abundance of resources.
This is a guest post by Ruda Pellini. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC, Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.
