Renewable Energy and Efficiency for Bitcoin Miners at the World Digital Mining Summit

At the World Digital Mining Summit in Hong Kong, Bitmain unveiled its next-generation Antminer S21 and S21 Hydro ASIC miners, revealing the much-anticipated performance stats. The S21 boasts a hasrate of 200 TH/s and an impressive efficiency of 17.5 J/T, while the S21 hydro hashes at 335 TH/s and 16 J/T, a significant improvement compared to the 20 J/T level of many Bitcoin ASICs.

Given the rising electricity costs and the upcoming Bitcoin halving in April 2024, miners are increasingly focusing on ASIC efficiency and incorporating renewable energy sources into their operations.

Bitcoin miners focus on efficiency and renewable energy

The integration of renewable energy sources into the mining industry was a major topic of discussion at the WDMS. Representatives from Terrawulf, Core Scientific, CleanSpark and Iris Energy discussed how this integration will become necessary for miners after the April 2024 Bitcoin supply halving.

Nazar Khan, COO of Terrawulf, stated that miners will have to find a way to maintain their profitability by either increasing their hashrate with sustainable energy or improving the efficiency of their ASICs.

When asked about the Antminer XP 21, Justin Kramer, founder of BMC, highlighted the exciting features of the new S19 XP. He noted that it is the most efficient miner available, with three integrated features: a high-efficiency power supply, a liquid-cooling system and a custom-built cooling fan.

Bitcoin is on track to become an ESG asset

In recent years, Bitcoin miners and BTC advocates have been pushing back against the idea that Bitcoin mining is bad for the environment and that the industry’s reliance on carbon-based energy production increases emissions.

Hong Kong Sustaintech Foundation Professor in Accounting and Finance, Haitian Lu, addressed this point directly, saying:

Lu pointed out that, “over time, Bitcoin mining has become more efficient and is also making use of cleaner energy. History shows that human progress from an agricultural society to industrialization to the digitalized economy of the future is accompanied by an increase in energy consumption per capita. What makes the difference is our ability to use renewable energy, thus achieving sustainable development.”

In line with the views of other panelists, Lu said that Bitcoin miners participating in demand response agreements with power producers and distributors leads to energy grid efficiency and provides an economic incentive for the promotion and development of renewable energy projects.

In addition to Bitcoin mining tapping into stranded energy, encouraging the development of renewable energy projects and helping to balance electric grids, the efficiency improvements of next generation ASICs like the Antminer S21 reduce miners’ energy consumption while also allowing them to increase their profits.