As a seasoned analyst with years of experience under my belt, I find the intersection of natural gas, Bitcoin mining, and renewable energy to be a fascinating and potentially game-changing development. The idea of capturing stranded energy from gas flaring, a practice that has long been a source of environmental concern, and repurposing it for high-demand industries such as Bitcoin mining and AI data centers, seems not only financially lucrative but also environmentally responsible.
At present, businesses involved in Bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence (AI) are showing increased interest in natural gas. As per Mohamed El-Masri, who is both a managing partner at Hodler Investments and the CEO of PermianChain, a platform for trading tokenized energy, reusing energy from gas flaring could potentially tap into a market worth $16 billion.
El-Masri mentioned to CryptoMoon that a significant portion of the current gas demand could be met by transforming the energy from gas flaring – an underutilized resource – into usable energy for mining activities and advanced computing purposes.
“147,000,000,000m³ of natural gas is flared per year globally, which could be equivalent to $16 billion a year in potential sales revenue or cash flow from this gas being sold into the market.”
The executive clarified that Bitcoin mining has demonstrated an approximately 12-fold increase in the value of energy, using terms such as gas valuation, price per MCF (thousand cubic feet) or MMBtu (million British thermal units), which are common in various countries. By transforming stranded energy into a financial asset, crypto mining and real-world asset tokenization showcase their ability to foster sustainability.
Bitcoin mining unlocks stranded energy and renewables
As the hashrate and computational complexity of Bitcoin mining continue to rise, miners are persistently on the lookout for unconventional, less exploited energy sources that can help them run their operations efficiently at reduced costs and maintain their competitiveness.
In May, the mining company previously known as Marathon Digital Holdings (now called MARA) revealed a collaboration with the Kenyan government aimed at fostering growth in the nation’s renewable energy industry.
Based on data from the International Trade Administration (ITA), approximately 41% and 30% of a particular African nation’s renewable energy comes from geothermal energy and hydroelectric power sources, respectively.
A research article on the topic of “A unified landfill gas-to-energy and Bitcoin mining system“, was recently made public in August, discussing the potential for Bitcoin mining to transform otherwise unused energy into financial worth.
The paper argued that Bitcoin miners can use landfill-gas-to-energy systems to convert methane gas into electricity for their mining operations. This would sequester the harmful gas from the atmosphere while providing a low-cost and attractive energy source for the miners.
As a crypto investor, I’ve discovered an interesting twist in the world of mining – not just converting energy for mining cryptocurrencies, but also utilizing the excess heat generated during this process. For instance, MARA, a company I follow, announced in June 2022 that they were using surplus heat from their Bitcoin mining facility to warm an entire town in Finland! This reverse conversion of energy is not only environmentally friendly, but also demonstrates the potential for cryptocurrency mining to contribute positively to local communities.
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2024-12-11 23:30