Bitcoin miners turn to nuclear power plants for electricity

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Photo: Sean Gallup (Getty Images)

Cryptocurrency mining is a hugely energy-intensive business that not only pumps more carbon emissions than some small countries, but quickly accumulates a small mountain range worth e-waste.

Now, apparently, we can add radioactive waste to bitcoin’s list of unfortunate environmental side effects. According to the Wall Street Journal, a number of bitcoin miners are making deals with local nuclear power plants. While nuclear is a carbon-free energy source for mining rigs, there are likely better uses for these electrons.

A handful of bitcoin miners have sought lucrative deals with some of the country’s ailing nuclear power plants, the Journal writes. One company, Pennsylvania-based Talen Energy Corp., told the newspaper that it recently entered into a joint venture with TerraWulf, a bitcoin transaction that bills itself as the answer to next-generation carbonless bitcoin mining. , whatever that means. According to the report, TerraWulf’s new mining facility will be stationed next to the Talens plant in Pennsylvania and will also be the size of four football fields.

As America’s nuclear fleet collapses as reactors reach and even pass retirement age, bitcoin mining could offer a way to keep operating. There are other options, however, including state-led bailouts. This would keep electricity free of emissions floating as the world rushes to install enough renewables to clean the grid.

Some states have attempted to entice bitcoin miners in an attempt to boost their economies, and nuclear power has played a key role in the sales pitch. Famous bitcoin fanboy and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, for example, confirmed to Bloomberg that his office has approached crypto mining companies with a view to setting up their operations alongside the South Floridas Turkey Point nuclear power plant. .

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It should be noted here that last month the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported on Turkey Points numerous security concerns, including several staff members who were fired in the past year for tampering with security inspections. So, uh, good luck to Suarez and his pitch.

Bitcoin has gained a reputation for consuming electricity and relying on the cheapest available sources, many of which are often very polluting. Chinese coal-fired power plants kept GPUs running for the majority of global mining operations until the country started cracking down on bitcoin. Natural gas plants have recently become mining hubs in upstate New York. Although it burns cleaner than coal in terms of carbon dioxide, the gas is also a major source of methane, a more potent greenhouse gas on which the world’s leading scientists recently sounded the alarm.

Nuclear power offers no carbon emissions to generate electricity, although other parts of the process are a source of emissions. It also produces radioactive waste, of which approximately 85,000 metric tonnes is in the United States. Knowing what to do with it is an ongoing problem.

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