2021-07-02 CNBC - Bitcoin mining consumed 56% green energy in June quarter

[o_e_l_e_o]

Yeah, that was the promise!
Now, we have to deal with reality:

The reality is that even as subsidies are phased out, solar will remain the cheapest option for new energy development, and will continue to fall in price even without any ongoing subsidies. Not only will new solar be cheaper than new coal, but we are already reaching the stage where building new solar is cheaper than running already existing coal power plants. And we are also at the stage where coal power plants are looking for government subsidies because they are operating at a loss.

If you are paying so much for electricity in your country, then why not install a solar panel and generate your own?

Why are miners in Texas setting up farms in the former coal and aluminum smelters and not near huge solar panels farms?

Some, yes. Others are building vast new renewable infrastructure: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/biggest-renewable-powered-crypto-mining-194626579.html

[stompix]

The reality is that even as subsidies are phased out

The reality is that in Germany with all the subsidies paid from people's taxes you still pay 30cents kwh while China pays 7 cents/kwh, before the whole eco nonsense we were paying 6 eurocents now we've arrived at 14 and every single of those increases are cogeneration taxes.
That's the reality you can check in every household bill!
The rest is assumptions, assumptions that have promised us for a decade cheaper and cheaper energy in Europe, and look where we are!

We have become so eco-friendly that we have to cut up rags and t-shirts to make a face mask and beg China for everything and meanwhile, China builds coal plant after coal plants laughing in our faces while we pay more and more and more!

If you are paying so much for electricity in your country, then why not install a solar panel and generate your own?

Because with 4 hours of peak sun I will be long dead before I would recover the cost of the panels and batteries. In reality, half of Europe has the same sun potential as Alaska but...who cares, right?

Others are building vast new renewable infrastructure: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/biggest-renewable-powered-crypto-mining-194626579.html

Nope, not building! They have announced plans! Huge difference!

Manhattan Solar Partners, LLC has announced plans to construct the biggest renewable-powered cryptocurrency mining data center in the USA.

I can't wait for their answer when they are asked where do they get the electricity with which they mine at night!

[o_e_l_e_o]

The reality is that in Germany with all the subsidies paid from people's taxes you still pay 30cents kwh while China pays 7 cents/kwh, before the whole eco nonsense we were paying 6 eurocents now we've arrived at 14 and every single of those increases are cogeneration taxes.

That seems to be more a problem with your government than a problem with renewable energy. Most other Western nations are pushing ahead with the transition to renewable energy sources, many going further than Germany have gone, and yet have much lower fuel costs for the end consumer.

I can't wait for their answer when they are asked where do they get the electricity with which they mine at night!

Probably wind. There are already bitcoin miners in Texas making use of the surplus of wind energy produced overnight which would otherwise be wasted since household and industrial usage is low and there is no means to store it:

https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/02/27/905626/how-texass-wind-boom-has-spawned-a-bitcoin-mining-rush/
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-01/bitcoin-miner-is-scoring-700-profits-selling-energy-to-grid

[Argoo]

Percentage of mining from renewable energy only went up because mining from Chinese coal energy sources are presently down and relocating to different parts of the world. Before we begin to get excited let us give it  a months until the relocated miners new energy sources are known.

Everything that is done is done for the best. The fact that bitcoin miners are now leaving China, where they have used cheap coal energy, is very good for several reasons. This is good both from an environmental point of view and from the point of view of reducing threats to cryptocurrency security from the Chinese government. After all, most of the bitcoins have always been mined in China, and this has always had a certain risk of possible negative decisions regarding cryptocurrency by the Chinese government. It will be much better for me if this problem is solved once and for all.