In a recent publication of their magazine, Renewable Energy World announced that Envion AG, a Swiss cryptocurrency company, could soon form a partnership with the world of renewable energy. The partnership would be between Envion AG and Enel (Ente Nazionale per l’Energia Elettrica), an Italian distributor of gas and electricity. This partnership would allow cryptocurrency miners to benefit from renewable energy sources such as wind or solar power.
Taking Advantage of the Situation
The mining of cryptocurrency is an activity that requires massive amounts of electricity and, in turn, the source of this power can influence the value of virtual currencies. Therefore, those who mine cryptocurrency would be able to truly benefit from using renewable energy sources, which is both less expensive and available in much larger quantities.
It is with this in mind that Enel opened discussions with Envion AG to see how they would be able to benefit from a collaboration with cryptocurrency miners.
This type of partnership would be beneficial to both sides. According to Leonardo Zanella, spokesman for Enel Global, the company is mainly interested in figuring out how to use Bitcoin as part of their operations. “Enel is interested in understanding how the energy sector can benefit from using Blockchain technology. Also, the miners will be able to benefit from the deal if they are able to move their operations to areas where electricity is cheaper.”
An Ever-Increasing Need
Not only does cryptocurrency rely on non-renewable energy sources, but the bigger problem is that the amount of energy required for mining operations is continuously growing. This is because there are constantly new miners and the value of cryptocurrencies is steadily increasing as well. This, in turn, means an increase in the cost of electricity needed for mining operations.
In fact, in 2017, we saw the energy needs of mining operations increase to a staggering 20.6-Terawatt hours, and this number continues to grow.
For each new cryptographic transaction, it is estimated that about 558 Kilowatt hours are needed. Therefore, to effectively mine cryptocurrency, any way to find a cheaper energy alternative is highly beneficial.
The Quest for Better Energy
This partnership with green energy seems to be a growing trend in the world of crypto-finance. In fact, Envion AG has already been conducting research to see about moving their infrastructure to locations that could benefit their operations, especially in terms of energy consumption. The company, also, recently raised an estimated $100 million dollars to develop a portable mining rig that will run off solar or wind energy.
