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You are assuming the mining electricity comes predominately from fossil fuels which couldn't be further from reality. In reality the cheapest power is often in
by pmorici 10y ago
You are assuming the mining electricity comes predominately from fossil fuels which couldn't be further from reality. In reality the cheapest power is often in areas where hydroelectric is the dominate power source and miners choose their location based on availability of cheap power. Look at Washington State for example. It's a major producer of hydropower, has the cheapest electric rates in the US, and has a large number of Bitcoin mining facilities. Even in China it holds true that many mining facilities are in areas supplied by hydro electric power.
- mrb 10y agoAuthor here. You are absolutely right. Petroleum- or coal-produced electricity is typically too expensive for miners.
- bitxbitxbitcoin 10y agoThanks for authoring this!
- mrb 10y agoGlad you liked it!
- jankotek 10y agoPetrol is very cheap in Venezuela and some other countries.
- mrb 10y agoIndeed. I know of a medium-size 55nm Bitfury farm in Venezuela. But as others pointed out, most miners are not located in Venezuela. In fact Venezuelan authorities are cracking down on mining farms, and have shut this one down - https://news.bitcoin.com/venezuelan-authorities-weakening-bitcoin-mining-operations/ https://news.bitcoin.com/venezuelan-authorities-weakening-bi...
- api 10y agoPower grids are big. Using hydro for mining means more fossil fuel must be burned elsewhere to make up for inability to import hydro. To give an example of just how big: Los Angeles metro imports power from Washington and Oregon via a HVDC line.
- mrb 10y ago"Using hydro for mining means more fossil fuel must be burned" Not necessarily. More renewables being used usually means more investments in renewable power are made.