Today, HM Treasury announced the creation of a new National Wealth Fund, intended to unlock investment, support thousands of jobs, and make the UK better off. It aims to kickstart growth and maximise private investment in UK green industries
One such sustainable industry - so far overlooked - is Bitcoin mining. An industry that has hitherto passed the UK by.
In our new paper, published today (and available to download below) we examine the problems facing a sustainable grid, and suggest a number of solutions.
The key issue: the UK's electricity grid needs to adapt to increased demand and intermittency caused by electrification and renewable generation.
Domestic demand side response (DSR) models are being developed but face limitations and require infrastructure development.
The new UK government has ambitious targets for onshore wind, and nuclear power.
Commercial and domestic DSR may not provide the flexibility needed to meet these targets.
Bitcoin mining is proposed as a solution due to its ability to provide a demand for spare renewable energy, particularly where such generation would be curtailed or where storage solutions do not yet exist.
Bitcoin mining can increase the competitiveness of renewable energy and provide a DSR capability with millisecond response.
It can monetize oversupply of energy, generating revenue from green energy that would otherwise be wasted.
Integration of Bitcoin mining with renewables projects strengthens the business case for renewable projects.
Bitcoin mining can lower unit prices by increasing the share of green energy in the UK's supply.
Ownership of mining facilities can be private, National Grid-owned, or state-owned.
We urge the new government to review our paper and we will continue our efforts to facilitate introductions between UK decision-makers and the Bitcoin mining industry to capitalise on all these potential synergies.
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