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While I mostly agree, there are subtleties here. Due to transmission capacity inefficiencies there are places in the grid where generation exceeds available loa
by idiotsecant 3y ago
While I mostly agree, there are subtleties here. Due to transmission capacity inefficiencies there are places in the grid where generation exceeds available load and power pricing drops very low or runs negative in price. For example, there are areas in California where a combination of physics and politics causes generation to have nowhere to go. Under these conditions I dontnhave much issue with people mining bitcoin. If there were more productive loads that could be utilizing that power, they would be.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago> Under these conditions I dontnhave much issue with people mining bitcoin At a penalty rate, sure. The problem is those negative rates invite productive power users. If you immediately balance them with useless crap, you never get the productive stuff. There is an analogy to Dutch disease, except with power prices: crypto and its ilk are the disease.
- wesapien 3y agoCan you provide examples of productive stuff
- laurencerowe 3y agoAluminium smelting.
- yetihehe 3y ago- Water desalination - CO2 scrubbing - Making synthetic fuel out of CO2, or any kind of "storage fuel".
- ttyprintk 3y ago- pumping water uphill - splitting water for fuel
- menschmanfred 3y agoAnd those locations should either attract good use cases like data centers or should be incentive to solve this issue in a way that we can use it. Like building more power lines or converting it into transportable energy like H2. Bitcoin plays in a different market and does the opposite to this .
- idiotsecant 3y agoShould? So why don't they?