Bitcoin Mining Could Soon Be a 'Windy' Affair

Bitcoin's rise to prominence has been warped by environmentalists concerned about the protocol's excessive energy requirements.

Researchers estimate Bitcoin uses as much electricity as Ireland and costs 0.1 percent of the world's GDP.Could Wind Power the Bitcoin Network?

A renewable energy company, is poised to ease environmentalists' concerns with a new, sustainable energy resource for the pioneer cryptocurrency, according to MIT Technology Review.

Founded in June 2018, Soluna is striving to answer the aforementioned issue with a 37,000-acre wind farm in Morocco aimed at providing renewable energy to Bitcoin mining farms.

According to the Soluna team, the enterprising farm can produce over 900 megawatts per day, a substantial chunk of energy considering Bitcoin's daily requirement of 2.55 gigawatts.

For the venture, Soluna will not sell energy to other miners and will use the revenue to reinvest in the farm and run the company.

CEO John Belizaire stated excess electricity would be sold to local Moroccan utilities-calling the venture a "Vertically integrated network" that augments the domestic renewable energy landscape in addition to powering Bitcoin and other altcoin networks.

Running the Bitcoin network is an energy-intensive business; confirming transactions and adding to new blocks requires millions of calculations before the system "Validates" a payment/transfer.

Despite efforts to relocate to western China, Russia, Iceland and the U.S., mining businesses grapple with considerable utility payments, as Bitcoin's validation difficulty increases and block rewards decrease.

The company ascertains it can mine any altcoin network in "Any foreseeable price environment," adding the model could find use in underdeveloped areas to create "Rich" energy processes.