crazy idea: use bitcoin to fund construction of a solar/wind/etc power plant

[arklan]

we all know about wind and solar and other sustainable power systems. we'd all love to operate our mining rigs off them too. well, let's discuss what it would ACTUALLY take to do, even if only at small scale.

site selection, construction costs, operating costs, tying into the grid to sell the power we didn't use for the hosted mining farms...

i mean, collectively we certainly have a chunk of money. let's consider putting some to use!

think about it: there's plenty of business hosting mining rigs. all that comes down to is cost of electricity and rent. so we use our power plant and the land it's on to host mining farms. then any extra power, we sell to the local grid.

or maybe just skip the hosted mining and stick to building a power plant. "you used your bitcoins to do WHAT?"

[1713914956]

1713914956

[1713914956]

1713914956

[1713914956]

1713914956

[1713914956]

1713914956

[TheFootMan]

we all know about wind and solar and other sustainable power systems. we'd all love to operate our mining rigs off them too. well, let's discuss what it would ACTUALLY take to do, even if only at small scale.

site selection, construction costs, operating costs, tying into the grid to sell the power we didn't use for the hosted mining farms...

i mean, collectively we certainly have a chunk of money. let's consider putting some to use!

think about it: there's plenty of business hosting mining rigs. all that comes down to is cost of electricity and rent. so we use our power plant and the land it's on to host mining farms. then any extra power, we sell to the local grid.

or maybe just skip the hosted mining and stick to building a power plant. "you used your bitcoins to do WHAT?"

There exist readymade solutions where you could put a turbine or two in a river, and harvest the power. Of course, this would have a budget. Solar panels might have a toxic production process, so maybe they're not that environmental friendly when you look at the whole picture.

Is this a serious project? What's your expertise and background?

[H.W.Z]

If you are holding enough amount of bitcoin, you have to convert to fiat to invest in building such power plants. If you have fiat cash, you don't need to bother to convert that cash to bitcoin. It is not question of using bitcoin as investing capital. If you are really having expertise at this, probably you can put this project in IPO, I thinks many peple are interested.

[TheFootMan]

If you are holding enough amount of bitcoin, you have to convert to fiat to invest in building such power plants. If you have fiat cash, you don't need to bother to convert that cash to bitcoin. It is not question of using bitcoin as investing capital. If you are really having expertise at this, probably you can put this project in IPO, I thinks many peple are interested.

Well, alternative energy is interesting. If raising enough money, and being dedicated enough, a setup where you purchase land near a river, and have a broadband connection, you could very well have a nice operation going.

So the expenses would be:

1. Turbine in the river.
2. Wiring + batteries ?
3. Mining machines
4. Computer equipment, server room - cooling?
5. Solar and/or wind in addition?
6. Broadband connection
7. Living costs.
8. Buying land / apartment

Perhaps a cold climate would be best? I would think readymade solutions for water turbines are not too cheap, so perhaps a hobbyist could make one himself. Also, one must take into account maintenance. Moving parts will sooner or later go kaput, and need to be replaced, so spare parts must be on the premises so downtime will never be too long.

Also you need to take into account whether the water stream is suitable, is it strong enough to produce any meaningful amount of electricity, and is there seasonal variables?

The income could be, not all might apply:
1. Blogging about the adventure, getting money from ads. (likely not too much)
2. Writing guides for others wanting to do the same (moderate)
3. Have a gift shop online selling t-shirts with the projects logo.
4. Having tours at the facilities, for a small cost.
5. Selling surplus electricity to the local electricity company?
6. Mining bitcoins and/or other alt currencies.
7. Selling bitcoins, perhaps even at a premium for cash?

If you make a serious effort, I'm sure people would back you. The project could be dubbed 'the bitcoin turbine project' or similar. Very interesting.

[Elwar]

Great idea, the best way to fund this type of venture would be via BitPools. http://www.bitpools.com
People pooling their bitcoins toward a common goal.

[DinaErfan]

Hello,



Can i know more details about this location and excepted annual rate of return ?

Thanks

[DFS]

This would be an interesting idea. I guess we'd just have to wait and see who would be willing to lead this idea.

[turvarya]

I don't know in which country you are living in, but I think in a lot of countries, you can't just put a turbine into a river even if you own the land around it. I am not sure, to what extend a part of river can be yours. E.g. in Austria owning a forest does mean,  you still have to allow hikers to go in there.

So, of which country you are talking about and have you checked the regulatory framework?

[TheFootMan]

I don't know in which country you are living in, but I think in a lot of countries, you can't just put a turbine into a river even if you own the land around it. I am not sure, to what extend a part of river can be yours. E.g. in Austria owning a forest does mean,  you still have to allow hikers to go in there.

So, of which country you are talking about and have you checked the regulatory framework?

I forgot to mention this. Red Tape is very present in many locations, so it would need to be checked. Although, some places they have a 'no check, never ask' policy.. If you moved to a very remote place, then nobody would probably bother you, but then the logistics of getting the gear in, restocking etc. could be a problem. Perhaps there are some countries where anyone can put any production gear into the river?

To extend this idea, making a whole community around bitcoin, freeing everyone from the slavery of fiat, would be an interesting project.  In some countries you can live and have a remote internet business and do not pay tax locally, legally.

[franky1]

until a 2kw solar panel able to support 24 hour mining (night and day) of a 1kw PSU powered mining rig is much cheaper than a thash mining rig. and also cheaper than 3 months of electric that would normally be spent, i see setting up a self sustaining mining power plant, to not be helpful.

[inBitweTrust]

until a 2kw solar panel able to support 24 hour mining (night and day) of a 1kw PSU powered mining rig is much cheaper than a thash mining rig. and also cheaper than 3 months of electric that would normally be spent, i see setting up a self sustaining mining power plant, to not be helpful.

Agreed, but micro-hydro could be used instead...

[franky1]

until a 2kw solar panel able to support 24 hour mining (night and day) of a 1kw PSU powered mining rig is much cheaper than a thash mining rig. and also cheaper than 3 months of electric that would normally be spent, i see setting up a self sustaining mining power plant, to not be helpful.

Agreed, but micro-hydro could be used instead...

cost of turbine and power utility?

[jcoin200]

until a 2kw solar panel able to support 24 hour mining (night and day) of a 1kw PSU powered mining rig is much cheaper than a thash mining rig. and also cheaper than 3 months of electric that would normally be spent, i see setting up a self sustaining mining power plant, to not be helpful.

Agreed, but micro-hydro could be used instead...

cost of turbine and power utility?

power plants cost billions to construct.  I don't think there are enough btc in existence to build one.

[Q7]

Maybe you can set up a firm where you get investors to contribute in btc and use the money to purchase solar powered mining rig. The returns from mining are then get paid back to the investors in btc.

Or find a company that specializes in this and jv with them. Then u don't have to worry on the tech part.

In this aspect electricity cost can be almost eliminated. Only the equipment cost (rig + solar), maintenance, .....yeah maybe viable in the long run

[inBitweTrust]

cost of turbine and power utility?

Around 8k usd will afford you a microhydro system for 4KW. So 4-6 decent mining asics would be powered. This would net a break even point of between 1.5-1.7 years on investment from electricity alone vs asics using paid power. System life before replacement is 15-25 years.

I have done a fair bit of research with micro hydro because I want to install one on my farm soon.

[TheFootMan]

I have done a fair bit of research with micro hydro because I want to install one on my farm soon.

Haha. That's so cool! Do you need a permit from your local govt for that? Or do you don't bother about that?

[iluvpie60]

we all know about wind and solar and other sustainable power systems. we'd all love to operate our mining rigs off them too. well, let's discuss what it would ACTUALLY take to do, even if only at small scale.

site selection, construction costs, operating costs, tying into the grid to sell the power we didn't use for the hosted mining farms...

i mean, collectively we certainly have a chunk of money. let's consider putting some to use!

think about it: there's plenty of business hosting mining rigs. all that comes down to is cost of electricity and rent. so we use our power plant and the land it's on to host mining farms. then any extra power, we sell to the local grid.

or maybe just skip the hosted mining and stick to building a power plant. "you used your bitcoins to do WHAT?"

There exist readymade solutions where you could put a turbine or two in a river, and harvest the power. Of course, this would have a budget. Solar panels might have a toxic production process, so maybe they're not that environmental friendly when you look at the whole picture.

Is this a serious project? What's your expertise and background?

Of course he isn't serious, he posted an idea on a forum. If he was serious it would say "I am now putting together these things and figuring out what to do." Instead the OP is asking us to do leg work for him to entertain his idea. Forums are mostly places for people who want to talk about their great ideas and opinions, not places where anything gets done(for the most part). Check through the posts, hardly anything gets done because of these forums(unless you count advertisements popping up).

sigh.

[inBitweTrust]

Haha. That's so cool! Do you need a permit from your local govt for that? Or do you don't bother about that?

No permit needed but it is better to get one as my country allows for a reversible meters where excess electricity goes back into the grid effectively making the grid act as the battery and removing the need for banks of batteries.  With microhydro you design the system to meet all your electrical needs during peak usage and than the system will continuously produce that power. Any power not used at a given moment can be fed back into the grid creating a credit balance that can than be used in addition to the microhydro later on or you can use the excess electricity to do other things like heat water.

[TheFootMan]

Haha. That's so cool! Do you need a permit from your local govt for that? Or do you don't bother about that?

No permit needed but it is better to get one as my country allows for a reversible meters where excess electricity goes back into the grid effectively making the grid act as the battery and removing the need for banks of batteries.  With microhydro you design the system to meet all your electrical needs during peak usage and than the system will continuously produce that power. Any power not used at a given moment can be fed back into the grid creating a credit balance that can than be used in addition to the microhydro later on or you can use the excess electricity to do other things like heat water.

Yes, very interesting. I've read abit about stuff like this. I would like to do it myself at one point, when conditions allow for it. Have you considered blogging about this? I for one, would love to see the project unfold.

[inBitweTrust]

Yes, very interesting. I've read abit about stuff like this. I would like to do it myself at one point, when conditions allow for it. Have you considered blogging about this? I for one, would love to see the project unfold.

yeah... Im probably going to film a bit of the project and will let you guys know if I throw in an asic or 2.