The UN scientists evaluated the activities of 76 Bitcoin mining nations during the 2020–2021 period and found that the global Bitcoin mining network consumed 173.42 Terawatt hours of electricity. A recent study conducted by the United...
A recent study conducted by the United Nations (UN) suggested a direct correlation between the price of Bitcoin (BTC) and the energy needed for mining operations.
“A 400% increase in Bitcoin’s price from 2021 to 2022 triggered a 140% increase in the energy consumption of the worldwide Bitcoin mining network.”
At the time, fossil energy sources accounted for 67% of the electricity generated for Bitcoin mining. However, crypto entrepreneurs have taken proactive measures to increase their dependence on green energy.
Hydropower satisfied over 16% of the total electricity demand of the global Bitcoin mining network, nuclear, solar and wind energy sources provided 9%, 2% and 5% respectively.
The global push for greener alternatives to fulfil the grid demand will also help reduce the carbon footprint of Bitcoin and the crypto ecosystem.
Recently, Genesis Digital Assets Limited (GDA), a mining and data center company with over 400 megawatts (MW) of power generation worldwide, opened a new data center in Sweden running 1,900 Bitcoin mining machines, driven by the country’s burgeoning renewable energy surplus.
Christian Anders, founder of BT.CX, told Cointelegraph that Bitcoin mining is not very common due to high energy prices. However, he added:
“Sweden, Finland and Norway have a surplus of energy and negative energy prices from time to time, and primarily renewable energy in the form of hydropower in a remote location which is hard to distribute.”