How this crypto miner is going green

The EU’s proof-of-work ban is off the table. The story of the “environmental sow” Bitcoin is still persistent – despite better knowledge. Because Bitcoin mining is an increasingly green industry. More and more mining companies rely on renewable energies for BTC mining.

So does White Rock Management (WRM). The Swiss-based mining company has committed itself to maintaining a climate-neutral CO₂ balance. On the company website is it[called:

Zero carbon emissions and the predominant use of green energy sources are important strategic features that ensure the long-term sustainability of the company.

Most recently, White Rock Management set up a carbon-neutral mining farm in Brazos Valley, Texas. The energy for the complex computing processes comes from natural gas, which is a waste product from a nearby oil production facility. Instead of burning the gas and thus increasing the CO₂ balance of oil production, the excess energy is fed directly into mining.

According to the company, 100,000 tons of CO₂ can be saved each year. With its green mining approach, WRM stands as an example for environmentally conscious prospecting. However, CEO Andy Long does not put on the shoe of wasting energy. After all, Bitcoin fulfills an important social task:

[Bitcoin] fulfills an important social function and is a unique good. The proportion of mining that is operated with renewable energies is over 60 percent and is constantly growing.

Andy Long, CEO, White Rock Management

But not only that. WRM even helps to expand renewable energies – at least if CEO Andy Long is to be believed.

As flexible electricity buyers, miners create incentives for the commissioning of new renewable generation capacities and in many places fulfill a useful function for grid operators, for example by temporarily throttling electricity.

Andy Long to BTC-ECHO

Bitcoin: Hashrate on record hunt

Meanwhile, the BTC hash rate sets the pace for the bull market. Despite minor price setbacks, the accumulated computing power in the BTC network only knows one direction these days: north. So it doesn’t seem surprising that the hashrate is printing a new all-time high of 310 exahashes per second (EH/s) today, February 24th.

This is also positive for Andy Long, who, like the entire industry, did not have an easy year in 2022. The entrepreneur says to BTC-ECHO:

The price development in January and February was very pleasing and of course had a positive impact on the miners’ profit margins. We continue to see volatility but are bullish on 2023 and even more so on 2024 after the halvening.

Andy Long to BTC-ECHO

Bitcoin’s ecological footprint

Bitcoin’s actual carbon footprint is difficult to estimate. After all, not all miners let themselves be looked at in terms of their energy sources. The study situation is contradictory. The Bitcoin Mining Council, a global mining lobby association, assumes a 63.8 percent share of renewable energies in BTC mining.

The Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index meanwhile comes to a much more conservative estimate of the CO₂ balance. As of January 2022, only 38 percent of the energy used for mining comes from renewable sources.

One more reason for miners to finally switch their production and mine BTC from green electricity.