Bitcoin Mining to harness onsite natural gas emissions: Ark Invest
Bitcoin mining is highly scalable and modular and can be shifted to the well site to harness methane emissions
A recent Ark Invest report's data reveals yet another use for Bitcoin (BTC) mining in sustainability and energy. The research indicates a huge possibility for converting methane emissions into energy for Bitcoin mining, which will greatly increase the amount of solar and wind energy produced on-site at wells.
With an extra 125 billion cubic metres of methane emissions, gas flaring emissions total 140 billion cubic metres annually. If left unchecked, the gas flaring results in an annual waste of 265 billion cubic metres of natural gas emissions. The amount of methane estimated to be required to maintain the present Bitcoin hash rate is only 25 billion cubic metres, though.
Because of the oil industry's preexisting investments in flaring operations, it is hard to harness all of the emissions. However, methane capture offers a workable and immediate option. Sam Korus of Ark Invest tweeted that wells on-site account for more than half of the methane released. This makes the site ideal for mining to absorb and use such pollutants effectively.
Additionally, it could create power at prices significantly less than what mining companies currently pay instead of venting the methane. The mining sector has recently begun to demonstrate evidence of improved energy efficiency and a turn toward sustainability.