Run your rig on renewable energy?

[killer2021]

Here is an interesting concept I was thinking about.

So we all know that the primary cost of the mining rig is the energy. For most, this is make or break. If the energy is too much you won't make any money. To solve this issue how about running the rig on renewable energy.

There are lots of places around the world that have awesome renewable energy resources that aren't tapped. Most of these resources aren't tapped because with renewable energy you need to build transmission lines so only the big renewable energy projects get developed. With running a rig there is no need for transmission line. Simply set up your renewable energy generators, connect to some transformers/power conditioning/battery then connect your rig to that. The ideal energy source would be a micro hydro setup that produces a couple KWs. If you are in a remote location then you can use satellite internet to connect to the internet.

Seems like a realistic idea if you live in a remote location.

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[BombaUcigasa]

You mean like this: https://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=16377.0

[killer2021]

Yes but not using solar (equipment is too expensive). Wind might work but you'll have to configure the rig to adjust to changing power conditions plus having your rig sitting idol because not enough juice could be a problem. I think the best setup is something that can produce cheap renewable energy reliable and thats microhydro.

There could also be some other potential energy sources:
geothermal - using a Stirling engine near some sort of heat vent (ie. a hotspring) however the ideal location would be difficult to find (maybe in iceland?). Plus you have to get the rights to exploit said hotspring. Lots of these locations are considered tourist attractions or protected under environmental laws.
Wood - Using Stirling engine to power a generator. Works best in some location where wood is free. I know there are some beaches that get tons of beach wood so you can collect as much as you want. Could be a pain in the ass, after a while though.  

So I think the best source is hydro power or geothermal.

[bcpokey]

Solar and wind make more sense than geothermal and hydro, simply because of their abundance and lack of needing rights to tap. Sun and wind are everywhere, geothermal and high volume flowing water are not.

I suppose if you happen to be living right on top of a geothermal source, or next to a raging river, that would be a fine option, if you're not one of the incredibly tiny portion that does then it might be a bit harder.

I suppose mining on one of these sources makes sense on some level, but their costs and hassle make them a large project with iffy return ratios. Though obviously they've side benefits to them outside of mining (like not raping the earth with all this power consumption and whatnot), except for burning wood. That's just incredibly wasteful.

[killer2021]

Solar and wind make more sense than geothermal and hydro, simply because of their abundance and lack of needing rights to tap. Sun and wind are everywhere, geothermal and high volume flowing water are not.

I suppose if you happen to be living right on top of a geothermal source, or next to a raging river, that would be a fine option, if you're not one of the incredibly tiny portion that does then it might be a bit harder.

I suppose mining on one of these sources makes sense on some level, but their costs and hassle make them a large project with iffy return ratios. Though obviously they've side benefits to them outside of mining (like not raping the earth with all this power consumption and whatnot), except for burning wood. That's just incredibly wasteful.

Yes there are logistic issues with hydro and geothermal but those seem the most realistic for 24/7 operation. The next best option would be wind power in some location where there is almost constant wind.

[fitty]

Here is an interesting concept I was thinking about.

So we all know that the primary cost of the mining rig is the energy. For most, this is make or break. If the energy is too much you won't make any money. To solve this issue how about running the rig on renewable energy.

There are lots of places around the world that have awesome renewable energy resources that aren't tapped. Most of these resources aren't tapped because with renewable energy you need to build transmission lines so only the big renewable energy projects get developed. With running a rig there is no need for transmission line. Simply set up your renewable energy generators, connect to some transformers/power conditioning/battery then connect your rig to that. The ideal energy source would be a micro hydro setup that produces a couple KWs. If you are in a remote location then you can use satellite internet to connect to the internet.

Seems like a realistic idea if you live in a remote location.

If people could do it right now (regardless of bitcoin) they would. Who wouldn't want to save money and have their tv/computer run for free?

Problem is it costs $1000s, you don't see the money for 5-10-15 years, and that's with huge tax breaks.

Energy is cheap and until it's no longer cheap there's not a lot of motivation to change.

[saqwe]

how about windgenerators?

[compro01]

My mining is roughly 40% renewable energy, mostly hydro and a bit of wind.

the other 60% is mostly coal, with a side of peaking natural gas.

[fascistmuffin]

Energy is cheap and until it's no longer cheap there's not a lot of motivation to change.

I think you just summed up the whole problem with renewable energy right there. It doesn't matter how efficient we can make solar/wind/hydro/anyrenewable as long as fossil fuels are cheaper. I'm just wondering when renewable will be cheaper, so we can finally realize how idiotic the fossil fuels are, like lead paint, Radium Revigators, and asbestos.

[bcpokey]

My mining is roughly 40% renewable energy, mostly hydro and a bit of wind.

the other 60% is mostly coal, with a side of peaking natural gas.

Are those sources under your control, or is that just the layout spread of your local power concern?

Energy is cheap and until it's no longer cheap there's not a lot of motivation to change.

I think you just summed up the whole problem with renewable energy right there. It doesn't matter how efficient we can make solar/wind/hydro/anyrenewable as long as fossil fuels are cheaper. I'm just wondering when renewable will be cheaper, so we can finally realize how idiotic the fossil fuels are, like lead paint, Radium Revigators, and asbestos.

Well, it would help if renewables got a fraction of the money being pumped into fossil fuels. Both in terms of research and just materials demand. Doesn't help that China is sitting on top of 90% of the production of REM, and have put a squeeze on exports either. The world needs to grow up and stop being a little baby.

[compro01]

My mining is roughly 40% renewable energy, mostly hydro and a bit of wind.

the other 60% is mostly coal, with a side of peaking natural gas.

Are those sources under your control, or is that just the layout spread of your local power concern?

local power concern.

who the hell has their own coal generator?

[neptop]

Using 100% renewable energy without any CO2 emissions here, but I am thinking about moving to other sources. Renewable isn't enough, it should have minimum (negative) impact on nature. Currently I am trying to figure out which source is the best to achieve this.

[CanaryInTheMine]

Why not just rent space at a local power generator (hydro)?  The owner/operator would eagerly rent you space and sell you very very cheap electricity...

This is especially true for countries outside of U.S. where everyone is looking for extra income.

The other option is to produce your own electricity and sell back to the grid.  Then, your per Kw cost could be 0.  The only problem with this option is how much is the capital expense?  If we had solar technology that was much more efficient than it is today, this would work nicely.

[bcpokey]

Using 100% renewable energy without any CO2 emissions here, but I am thinking about moving to other sources. Renewable isn't enough, it should have minimum (negative) impact on nature. Currently I am trying to figure out which source is the best to achieve this.

Use 100% renewable to run a huge bitcoin farm, then funnel all the excess heat into a small steam turbine to run a desalinzation plant. No co2 and you even make some fresh water. Yay!

[BkkCoins]

Oh man.

If you had the money to buy into solar or wind generation you'd be much better off to put it into more GPUs instead. Other than bragging rights to say you are "totally renewable" there's no way it would be profitable and not very earth friendly either.

You may be able to get your electric for free after you invest in the gear but the up front costs both in money and environmental impact of equipment would exceed the savings for quite some time. Probably you would have to keep adding more solar/wind to keep up with increasing difficulty and it would continually get harder to realize any payback.

No, if you want to save the environment then don't start mining.
Just like in the real world with coal.

[goxed]

Oh man.

If you had the money to buy into solar or wind generation you'd be much better off to put it into more GPUs instead. Other than bragging rights to say you are "totally renewable" there's no way it would be profitable and not very earth friendly either.

You may be able to get your electric for free after you invest in the gear but the up front costs both in money and environmental impact of equipment would exceed the savings for quite some time. Probably you would have to keep adding more solar/wind to keep up with increasing difficulty and it would continually get harder to realize any payback.

No, if you want to save the environment then don't start mining.
Just like in the real world with coal.

In Texas Green Mountain Energy supplies wind generated power. Since power is deregulated there, one can use this company.
http://www.greenmountainenergy.com/
IMHO this is a nice way to support renewable energy without capital investment.

[BkkCoins]

I agree. Great idea, if you live in Texas.

[PandaMiner]

I live in Texas, and GME is more expensive to use in most places. I've lived in 3 areas in Texas since GME came on the scene a decade ago. It was .04 (actual .0004) pkw more expensive, then, and .03 more expensive where I live now. (deep south)

[killer2021]

Here is an interesting concept I was thinking about.

So we all know that the primary cost of the mining rig is the energy. For most, this is make or break. If the energy is too much you won't make any money. To solve this issue how about running the rig on renewable energy.

There are lots of places around the world that have awesome renewable energy resources that aren't tapped. Most of these resources aren't tapped because with renewable energy you need to build transmission lines so only the big renewable energy projects get developed. With running a rig there is no need for transmission line. Simply set up your renewable energy generators, connect to some transformers/power conditioning/battery then connect your rig to that. The ideal energy source would be a micro hydro setup that produces a couple KWs. If you are in a remote location then you can use satellite internet to connect to the internet.

Seems like a realistic idea if you live in a remote location.

If people could do it right now (regardless of bitcoin) they would. Who wouldn't want to save money and have their tv/computer run for free?

Problem is it costs $1000s, you don't see the money for 5-10-15 years, and that's with huge tax breaks.

Energy is cheap and until it's no longer cheap there's not a lot of motivation to change.

I am thinking of this operation more of a business venture/investment opportunity. With that being said you have to think of it in that way. Also most people don't use renewable now because their renewable sources aren't very good. Location is key especially with geothermal and hydro.

Yes it can be expensive to build but as I have said, this is more of an investment.

It doesn't matter if energy is cheap right now. When it comes to bitcoin you have to be able to beat people who are operating at the cheapest price even if its 3-4c/kwh.

[killer2021]

Why not just rent space at a local power generator (hydro)?  The owner/operator would eagerly rent you space and sell you very very cheap electricity...

This is especially true for countries outside of U.S. where everyone is looking for extra income.

The other option is to produce your own electricity and sell back to the grid.  Then, your per Kw cost could be 0.  The only problem with this option is how much is the capital expense?  If we had solar technology that was much more efficient than it is today, this would work nicely.

Its possible but you have to understand that most large hydro is already connected to the grid. So why sell your energy for 1c/kwh when you can sell it to the grid for 5-6c/kwh? The only place that would work is in locations where there is no large market for energy like in some African village or something. Most of those microhydro projects were built by humanitarian groups and given to the tribe. But if you showed up and said, "hey, I'll pay you 1c/kwh for your excess energy." Then they would gladly jump at the offer because at their current situation NO ONE can afford to buy energy.

For the second statement that is ASSUMING you are connected to the grid in the first place. what if you are out in the Alaskan outback and you have a micro hydro project? Do you think you will be connected to the grid? Absolutely not. Those are the types of locations I am talking about. Some river/stream that is in the middle of no where but has the potential to generate 50-100kwh. A normal utility would not develop the resource because they would have to build a super expensive transmission line to bring the power to the market. So no one invests to build the hydro power station. These are the types of locations I am talking about.

The engineering would be pretty simple to do. The bigger problem is getting right of use permits and agreements from landowners. It would be better done in 3rd world countries rather than 1st world countries who are rather anti-growth at the present state.

For myself, right now I have most of money parked in the stock market making 3-5%/year. If I could invest in this project and get a return of 20-30% on my money then it would be well worth the risks.