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The opportunity cost means there is effectively no difference. A megawatt hour used to mine from a clean source means that a megawatt hour used for something el
by rz2k 5y ago
The opportunity cost means there is effectively no difference. A megawatt hour used to mine from a clean source means that a megawatt hour used for something else doesn't come from a clean energy source. Even if this project is the difference between building additional clean energy capacity or not, the resources for building that capacity have an opportunity cost—something that can't be built that would create value. Mining cryptocurrency doesn't create wealth any more than mining gold or printing money, it creates value in a zero sum manner, by discounting the value of all other currencies by a very tiny amount.
- aserafini 5y ago> Resources of building clean energy capacity have an opportunity cost I don’t understand this point, are you saying a project that stimulates additional clean energy capacity is a net negative somehow? Why?
- petmon 5y agoYes and very much so. Look at the GPU market: probably crypto has stimulated some GPU additional capacity, but overall crypto has been highly net-negative for non-crypto GPU uses. Imagine if crypto did to the solar market what it has already done to the GPU market.
- motioncuty 5y agoThis isnt true at all, theres tons of stranded energy production sources that are not being used now that would be made viable through mining crypto and transferring that "work" electronically rather than over wire.
- MandieD 5y agoLike those old coal power plants being retained or even fired up explicitly for crypto mining? https://www.wsj.com/articles/bitcoin-miners-are-giving-new-life-to-old-fossil-fuel-power-plants-11621594803 https://www.wsj.com/articles/bitcoin-miners-are-giving-new-l...