Sustainable Energy Use In Bitcoin Mining Reaches New Highest Record

Illustration of bitcoin miners. (photo: x @BitBullsBTC)

JAKARTA - Recent research from Bitcoin ESG Forecast has revealed that the use of sustainable energy in Bitcoin (BTC) mining reached a new record high of 54.5%, with an increase in sustainable mining of 3.6% overall during the 2023 calendar year.

According to an article on their blog, Bitcoin ESG Forecast analyzed data from their Bitcoin Energy and Emissions Sustainability Tracker (BEEST) model and compared Bitcoin's continuous energy mix with other industries over the past four years using publicly available data.

According to the data, Bitcoin mining is currently the highest user of sustainable energy (54.5%) in various sub-sectors, and has achieved an increase in sustainable mining by 3.6% for the calendar year 2023 compared to other global industries.

Bitcoin ESG Forecast found that Bitcoin miners were off-grid using methane emissions. According to the study, small oil producers in Canada and the US paid permission to allow natural gas, some took out methane directly, which was difficult to detect.

However, some mining companies use methane issued to generate electricity for Bitcoin mining, reducing the environmental impact compared to letting it out into the air. This means the Bitcoin network can reduce 7.3% of all of its emissions without offsets, hitting new record highs and emission mitigation rates without the highest offsets of all industries.

According to the article, additional sustainable mining, such as Tether's expansion of hydro mining in Latin America and the discovery of more off-grid methane mining that reduces emissions, means the Bitcoin network uses more sustainable energy than ever before.

Following China's ban on mining and its effective ban on Kazakhstan, miners generally turn to more environmentally friendly networks in North America or on-grid sites. The post states that the global network becomes 0.7% greener per year, resulting in an increase in emissions intensity of 29% for on-grid Bitcoin miners compared to 2021.