Norway’s BTC miners rely 100% on renewable energy

Over the years, there has been intense debate about the energy consumption of Bitcoin mining activities. However, Bitcoin (BTC/USD) supporters have argued that mining the coin could incentivize the renewable energy sector.

In Norway, Bitcoin mining activities are 100% done through renewable energy. A report from Arcane noted that green BTC mining activities in the country were flourishing.

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Norway uses renewable energy to mine Bitcoin

Norway currently accounts for 0.77% of the Bitcoin hash rate. Bitcoin mining activities in Norway are almost entirely powered using hydropower, with Arcane calling the country “a green oasis of renewable energy.”

The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) notes that the electricity used in Norway is 100% renewable, and it is 88% generated through hydro and 10% through wind, showing that Bitcoin miners in the country are using renewable energy.

Jaran Mellerud, a researcher with Arcane, noted that an abundance of hydropower in Norway gives miners access to cheap and green energy. Mellerud also noted additional benefits to this, such as using heat generated from Bitcoin mining operations to benefit the country located in the cold north.

One of Norway’s Bitcoin miners is Bluebite, a company based in Germany. The CEO of the company, Conor Davis, notes that one of its data centres is situated in a location that was previously dubbed to be “unpleasant and inhospitable.” However, Bitcoin mining activities have revived the area.

Bluebite is currently looking for innovative ways to use the heat generated from Bitcoin mining activities. It is currently exploring if this heat can be directed towards the local population for heating purposes or used to farm strawberries.

However, given the small contribution of Norway to the global hash rate, it shows that despite an abundance of cheap and renewable energy, Norway remains unattractive to large Bitcoin miners.

In its report, Arcane noted that “Norwegian miners are not the biggest.” However, this could soon change due to the growing advocacy for BTC miners to shift towards renewable energy. Moreover, Norway presents an opportunity for miners to channel the heat generated during mining activities for secondary purposes.

Using “waste” heat from Bitcoin mining

Bitcoin miners globally have found new ways to use “waste” heat generated from Bitcoin mining activities. One Dutch Bitcoin miner has been channelling this heat to grow flowers dubbed the “Bitcoin flowers.”

Another mining firm, Kryptovault, is also drying timber using this wasted heat. The company’s CEO, Kjetil Hove Pettersen, said that 99% of the electric energy used in mining operations was converted into thermal energy that could be used for secondary purposes.

Pettersen also agreed that Norway was a suitable location for Bitcoin mining despite the challenges that BTC miners face, especially when the market is not performing well. As an added benefit, Pettersen said that Bitcoin mining in Norway had a “higher production than consumption and very limited capacity to transfer that excess energy to other regions such as mainland Europe.”