The Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance (CCAF), which tracks electricity consumption for bitcoin (BTC) mining, added energy sources in a major update on September 27. According to the data, the sustainable electricity mix in bitcoin mining decreased by 13% in 2021 compared to 2020.
Electricity from natural gas and nuclear power saw the highest increase last year. Electricity use from natural gas nearly doubled from 12.83% in 2020 to 22.92% last year. On the other hand, the share of nuclear power in the electricity mix for bitcoin mining more than doubled from 4.02% in 2020 to 8.85% in 2021.
Electricity produced from oil rose marginally to 1.47% from 1.21% in the previous year. Coal remained the largest source of electricity for bitcoin mining, although its share declined to 38.23% from 40.37% in 2020.
Data shows that as a result of the increasing use of fossil fuels, non-renewable energy sources accounted for 71.47% of the electricity consumed by bitcoin mining in 2021.
Hydropower use saw the biggest drop, falling from 33.67% in 2020 to 18.5% last year. However, hydropower remained the largest source of renewable energy for bitcoin mining.
Solar and wind energy use increased marginally from 1.83% and 5.19% in 2020 to 2.73% and 6.02% in 2021 respectively. The data shows that the share of other non-renewable energy sources grew to 1.23% from 0.46% in 2020.
Overall, the share of renewables in the bitcoin mining electricity mix has fallen from 41.15% in 2020 to 28.48% in 2021, according to CCAF data.
The decline in the use of renewable energy, in turn, has pushed greenhouse gas emissions from bitcoin mining to an all-time high of 56.29 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO).2e) in 2021. It indicated an increase of more than 63% from 34.37 million tons of carbon dioxide2emitted in 2020.
Why the Sustainability Mix Degraded Bitcoin Mining Power
According to Cambridge Analysts, China’s ban on bitcoin mining in June 2021 played a role in the sustainability mix of bitcoin mining power. In a report, analysts noted that prior to the mining ban, miners in China were migrating seasonally within the country.
During the rainy season, when the water level rose, miners moved to areas with cheap and abundant water power. During dry seasons, miners moved to thermal power plants when the water level fell. The report indicated:
“…The Chinese government’s ban on cryptocurrency mining and the resulting shift in Bitcoin mining activity to other countries has negatively impacted Bitcoin’s ecological footprint.”
But the impact of China’s mining ban has been limited since China’s share of mining capacity fell to zero, regardless of the short rise in September 2021.
However, with miners relocating to other countries after the Chinese mining ban, the relocation area has affected the sustainability mix of bitcoin mining electricity.
For example, in countries such as Kazakhstan, where many Chinese miners were transported, electricity is produced mainly from fossil fuels. Sustainable energy sources account for only 11% of the country’s electricity mix.
But in Sweden, which accounts for only a tiny share of bitcoin mining, 98% of electricity is generated from renewable sources. Therefore, the environmental footprint of bitcoin mining depends on the mining hash rate in each country.
from San Jose News Bulletin https://sjnewsbulletin.com/use-of-non-renewable-energy-in-bitcoin-mining-increased-13-in-2021/
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