Cornell Study: Bitcoin Can Power Renewable Energy Deployments and Climate Action

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A recent study led by investigators from Cornell University has outlined how Bitcoin can help finance renewable energy installations by using surplus power even while these facilities are not yet integrated into the U.S. power grid. Texas is said to be one of the states with the most potential.

Cornell Study Outlines How Bitcoin Can Help Sustain Renewable Energy Projects

A study titled “From Mining to Mitigation: How Bitcoin Can Support Renewable Energy Development and Climate Action,” completed by Cornell University investigators, explains that Bitcoin can be a positive element for deploying renewable energy projects in the U.S.

The study claims that during the pre-commercial development phase, when mining facilities are still under development but capable of generating energy, some developers could profit from Bitcoin mining.

Of all the states examined by researchers, Texas presents some of the greatest potential to take advantage of these possibilities, hosting 32 projects that can generate $47 million from mining activities. The Aktina Solar and Roseland Solar projects were found to be the ones with the most potential benefits from implementing Bitcoin mining activities.

The profitability of these activities will depend on a series of factors, including the capacity of the site to generate steady energy for long periods, which depends on the facility’s location, according to Fengqi You, one of the study’s researchers.

This, and establishing policies focused on rewarding miners that favor clean energy sources over dirtier alternatives, might move miners to run more environmentally friendly facilities.

Apoorv Lal, one of the doctoral students that helped complete the research, stated:

We also recommend policies that encourage cryptocurrency-mining operations to return some of their profits back into infrastructure development. This would help create a self-sustaining cycle for renewable energy expansion.

While some institutions have started to insert Bitcoin mining into a future of sustainable energy policies, others have raised alarms about its operations, declaring that just one Bitcoin transaction uses a “swimming pool of water.”

What do you think about the environmental impact of Bitcoin? Tell us in the comments section below.