A pro-Bitcoin mining report from a philanthropist pitched by Daniel Patten claims that Bitcoin can become a zero-emissions network.
The report draws on data from the Bitcoin Mining Council to understand the impact of carbon-negative energy sources on the overall carbon footprint of Bitcoin (BTC). After investigating and extrapolating the results, it claims to “predict when the entire Bitcoin network will become a zero-emissions network.”
But how does the network become carbon negative in the first place? Simply put, by burning stranded methane to mine BTC that would have been released into the atmosphere. The study found that this process, which is already taking place worldwide, reduces network emissions by 63%.
“This means that 1.57% of the Bitcoin network that uses negative carbon sources has a -4.2% impact on the carbon intensity of the Bitcoin network.”
The study uses data from various burning gas BTC miners, including Crusoe Energy in Colorado, Jai Energy in Wyoming, and Arthur Mining in Brazil. It also touches on miners using waste gases from animal waste – such as the one in Slovakia – to show that bitcoin mining can positively impact the environment by preventing the emission of harmful methane gases.
As central bankers and the mainstream media continue to snap up energy-intensive mining of Bitcoin, it appears that mining could be a viable path to reducing emissions. According to a report by the United Nations, “Reducing methane is the most powerful way to slow climate change over the next 25 years.” By eliminating gas flaring or biogas emissions from animal waste, bitcoin miners around the world are working toward the goal of zero emissions.
Cointelegraph reporter Joe Hall interviewed a Northern Irish farmer who recently started experimenting with bitcoin mining. Owen, the farmer, told Cointelegraph that mining bitcoin using farm waste that emits biogas would have otherwise risen into the atmosphere.
Owen, on top of an anaerobic digester and in front of a bitcoin mine, speaks to Cointelegraph.
Owen has partnered with Scilling Digital Mining, an Irish company looking for renewable energy to use in bitcoin mining. Referring to further adoption across Ireland, Mark Morton – managing director of Scilling – told Cointelegraph:
“Daniel [Batten] has done an exceptional job demonstrating the ability of Bitcoin mining to capture methane. The praise for unfamiliar energy consumers is only just beginning, and Irish farmers could be the next big adopters of this amazing technology.”
Morton added that “Bitcoin mining will be a catalyst for widespread off-grid adoption of anaerobic digestion resulting in less farm waste, higher hash rate on the decentralized network, and lower agricultural emissions.” Agriculture is responsible for a third of Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions, so capturing waste gases from farming can not only clean up the polluting farming industry, but also generate additional revenue through mined BTC.
Related: Banks Use 56 Times More Energy Than Bitcoin: Valuechain Report
Patten, the author of the report, is an environmental activist who dedicates his time to researching bitcoin and energy consumption. Before advocating protecting the environment through bitcoin mining, Patten was a philanthropist and venture capitalist.
During a remote presentation at Surfin’ Bitcoin over the weekend, he shared why bitcoin mining has become his “most important task.” On the show, he made an argument for methane capture and stressed the urgency of climate change.
