Agile Energy X is conducting trials to power Bitcoin mining operations with surplus solar energy.
In an effort to encourage the use of green energy, a Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) subsidiary is going into the Bitcoin mining business.
Agile Energy X, a TEPCO subsidiary, is testing the use of surplus solar energy to run Bitcoin mining operations.
Agile Energy X president Kenji Tateiwa says that if the project succeeds, it may promote the addition of more renewable energy to Japan’s electrical grid.
Tateiwa remarked, “What we are doing has few parallels in Japan.” “Success of our framework would prompt more green energy to be introduced.”
Agile Energy X Installs Bitcoin Mining Machines Near Solar Farms
The “output control” policies of the nation, which entail reducing the production of renewable energy in order to manage transmission constraints or balance supply and demand, served as the impetus for the initiative.
Tateiwa clarified that Agile Energy X looked into other applications for excess power because this process frequently results in significant energy waste.
In order to solve this problem, the business has placed Bitcoin mining equipment close to solar farms in the prefectures of Gunma and Tochigi, which are close to Tokyo.
Capturing and utilizing otherwise wasted energy is the goal of these installations.
#TEPCO's subsidiary Agile Energy X is exploring #Bitcoin mining using surplus renewable energy to prevent wastage in #Japan.
— TOBTC (@_TOBTC) September 9, 2024
The initiative involves harnessing unused solar power near #Tokyo, aiming to reduce energy curtailment and promote green energy through profitable… pic.twitter.com/OLW8n3r6xC
According to the Asahi Shimbun, Japan’s output control policies resulted in the loss of 1,920 gigawatt-hours of power in 2023—an amount equal to 450,000 households’ annual electricity consumption.
According to simulations done by Agile Energy X, up to 240,000 gigawatt-hours could be lost yearly if renewable energy were to supply half of Japan’s energy needs.
According to the company, mining Bitcoin with just 10% of this excess power might bring in about $2.5 billion (360 billion yen) in revenue annually.
According to Tateiwa, the proceeds from Bitcoin mining could boost business profits and encourage the expansion of green energy projects.
Prominent figures in the industry have expressed interest in the concept. Fred Thiel, CEO of Marathon Digital Holdings, commended Japan’s strategy in a social media post.
In the US, similar programs are already in place; in Texas, specifically, grid balancing is accomplished through the use of renewable energy.
Finland’s Marathon’s Bitcoin Mining Project is about to get hot.
The biggest Bitcoin mining company in the world, Marathon Digital Holdings, has launched a new initiative that will heat an entire town in Finland.
For more than 11,000 residents, the pilot project uses the recycled heat produced by Bitcoin mining to provide heating.
Marathon initiated a 2-megawatt experimental project in the Finnish Satakunta region back in June.
This project, which is Marathon’s first district heating-based pilot project in the Euro area, aims to warm the community by harnessing the heat generated from digital asset computing.
Bitcoin miners are looking for ways to increase their earnings after the 6.25 BTC block rewards in 2024 were halved to 3.125 BTC.
The company Marathon Digital Holdings has been aggressively investigating ways to make money off of the surplus heat produced by its data centers and Bitcoin mining operations.
The company wants to help with the global energy transformation by creating new revenue streams and strategic approaches to reach zero-cost power for digital asset computing.
For Marathon, the sale of surplus heat from Bitcoin mining might have a significant positive financial impact.