Peer-reviewed papers on Bitcoin mining's energy usage

Link: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c05445

Journal: ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering (Impact Factor: 7.1)

Findings: Bitcoin mining helps renewable developers generate more profits, accelerating the renewable transition

Link: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c06077

Journal: ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering (Impact Factor: 7.1)

Findings: “The opportunities offered by bitcoin mining in reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions and renewable energy transition are greater than generally assumed”

Link: https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652624002464

Journal: Journal of Cleaner Production (Impact factor: 9.7)

Findings: Bitcoin mining with renewable energy is profitable in 96% of cases and is consistently profitable than chemical-based utilization (hydrogen, ammonia, methanol). The “profits from bitcoin mining can empower energy transition.

Link: https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666954425000092#s0105

Journal: Digital Business (Impact Factor: 7.4)

Findings: Bitcoin mining can “promote cleaner energy use and reduce the carbon footprint of energy production.” By using renewable or stranded sources, Bitcoin mining aligns “economic incentives with sustainability goals.

Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032120308054

Journal: Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews (Impact Factor: 16.3)

Findings: Bitcoin mining acts as a financial hedge against low electricity prices, significantly improving the economic viability and profitability of wind energy projects.

Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360835223000335

Journal: Computers & Industrial Engineering, Impact Factor: 6.7)

Findings: Presents an optimization model for strategically locating cryptocurrency mining facilities near renewable energy sources, minimizing costs and carbon footprints, thereby integrating mining operations sustainably into energy grids.

Link: https://cell.com/heliyon/fulltext/S2405-8440(24)15796-9

Journal: Heliyon (Impact factor: 3.4)

Findings: Bitcoin mining reduces the ROI from 8.1yrs to 3.5yrs while reducing CO2 emissions by 50,000 tonnes/year on a typical 50MW solar farm. Profits from Bitcoin mining using renewable generation help accelerate the energy transition. PoS blockchains (such as Ethereum) can not offer these features.

Link: https://accedacris.ulpgc.es/handle/10553/119153

Journal: Energy Reports (Impact Factor: 4.7)

Findings: Co-locating Bitcoin mining operations with wind farms significantly improves economic viability by generating additional revenue during periods when the wind farm is not supplying power to the grid.

Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0038092X22000172

Journal: Solar Energy (Impact Factor: 6.0)

Findings: Combining crypto-mining with a typical “PV rooftop system can supply 83% of the consumed electricity of the mining system per year and prevent the annual emissions of 5.5 tCO2 to the atmosphere simultaneously.”

Link: https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142061524001364

Journal: International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems (Impact factor: 5)

Findings: Microgrids (MGs) not using Bitcoin Mining waste significant renewable energy. However using Bitcoin mining stops almost all renewable waste reduces MG costs by 46%, accelerates MG development and decarbonizes power production

Link: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2313911121

Journal: PNAS (Impact factor 9.4)

Findings: Combining green hydrogen and Bitcoin can enable capacity expansions of up to 25.5% for solar power and 73.2% for wind powered operations.

Link: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2022/ee/d1ee03804d

Journal: Energy & Environmental Science (Impact Factor: 32.4)

Findings: Integrating Bitcoin mining with direct air carbon capture and renewable energy has the potential to make Bitcoin mining carbon-neutral, depending on state-specific electricity grids.

Link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/376862285_The_feasibility_study_of_the_production_of_Bitcoin_with_geothermal_energy_Case_study

Journal: Energy Science & Engineering, Impact Factor: 3.5)

Findings: Demonstrates the economic feasibility of powering Bitcoin mining operations with geothermal energy, providing a renewable, profitable alternative to traditional energy sources.

Link: https://mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/18/7919

Journal: Sustainability (Impact Factor: 3.9)

Findings: Bitcoin [can] accelerate the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals”, and provides a way to make often economically unviable bio-refineries profitable

Link: https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652624029652?via%3Dihub

Journal: Journal of Cleaner Production (Impact factor: 9.7)

Findings: Bitcoin mining can profitably reduce landfill methane

Link: https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266679242300015X

Journal: Advances in Applied Energy (Impact factor: 13)

Findings: Bitcoin mining’s flexibility increases both grid reliability & stability

Link: https://mdpi.com/2078-1547/14/3/35

Journal: Challenges (Impact Factor: 2.8)

Findings:  [our research finding support] “a possible role for Bitcoin mining in promoting grid decarbonization” through effective demand response”

Link: https://mdpi.com/2078-1547/14/4/47

Journal: Challenges (Impact Factor: 2.8)

Findings: There is “transformative potential in the Bitcoin mining sector, especially regarding demand response, grid flexibility, and methane mitigation”

Link: https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0928765523000313

Journal: Resource & Energy Economics (Impact Factor: 2.6)

Findings: Bitcoin mining can increase renewable energy penetration, replacing the need for gas peaker plants. Also: “When Bitcoin miners provide … demand response, their emissions impact is largely mitigated.”

Link: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/author/37086518542

Journal: IEEE Access (Impact Factor 3.6)

Findings: Bitcoin mining is the more effective at accelerating rooftop solar development than using either Batteries, or standalone solar deployments. 12.5% ROI for Battery versus Bitcoin a 57.7% ROI using Bitcoin (4.6x higher).

Link: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-8954/13/5/359

Journal: MDPI Systems (Impact Factor: 3.1)

Findings: Integrating Bitcoin mining with bio-refineries can

• avoid waste by creating an additional revenue stream that could lower prices for bio-based products
• support renewable energy growth by acting as a flexible, off-grid power sink, that reduces (flare) emissions

Link: https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2096720923000441?via%3Dihub

Journal: Blockchain-Research and Applications (Impact factor 6.9)

Findings: Reveals data-gathering and methodological flaws in the works of Alex de Vries/Digiconomist and other early commentators on Bitcoin mining

https://www.da-ri.org 

https://bitcoinpolicy.uk

https://www.btcpolicy.org/research-categories/mining-energy