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06-11-2021, 10:29 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-11-2021, 10:30 PM by HereOnThePrimalEdge.)
If not for shortsighted believers of crazy conspiracy theories, with influence over government officials that far outweighs their grasp of facts and reality, Puna could have a nearly unlimited number of good paying, clean energy tech jobs. Even third world countries can see the benefits (not the imagined terror) of geothermal power.
Does money grow on volcanoes? El Salvador explores bitcoin mining
June 9 (Reuters) - El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele said on Wednesday that he has instructed state-owned geothermal electric firm LaGeo to develop a plan to offer bitcoin mining facilities using renewable energy from the country's volcanoes.
"Our engineers just informed me that they dug a new well, that will provide approximately 95MW of 100% clean, 0 emissions geothermal energy from our volcanoes," Bukele said.
https://news.trust.org/item/20210609202641-d52uu/
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06-11-2021, 11:13 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-11-2021, 11:15 PM by terracore.)
The BTC network uses about 12 gigawatts of electricity every minute, most of it from coal-fired plants in China and elsewhere.
A "green" solution like geothermal would certainly offset a miniscule amount of that, but it would still be contributing to what is essentially a "dirty" asset.
It would make more sense to mine lithium from the water injected into the geothermal wells. There was recently a breakthrough in mining lithium from seawater, I'm guessing it could be adapted to extracting the lithium from geothermal instead of injecting it back into the ground.
https://electrek.co/2021/06/04/scientist...-seawater/
I always thought it was ironic that BTC is heralded as the "alternative to fiat currencies" but the electricity used in the backbone of the BTC operation is paid for in fiat currencies, making it essentially a fiat-backed asset itself.
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(06-11-2021, 11:13 PM)terracore Wrote: The BTC network uses about 12 gigawatts of electricity every minute, most of it from coal-fired plants in China and elsewhere.
That's an insane amount of power! I knew it was dirty but not to that extreme. Show on Netflix called "startup", that I stopped watching after one episode, gives a hint at the massive amount of energy used for this.
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There’s been a lot of news over the last month about moving toward clean energy bitcoin mining. In fact, it’s been suggested the massive amounts of dirty fuel now used may move the world toward greater use of green energy. Puna could be a part of that with our potential access to vast amounts of geothermal power:
Bitcoin May Speed Up The World’s Transition To Renewable Energy
One key feature of a mining operation is that bitcoin can be mined anywhere in the world. Why is this important? This offers a solution to two of the biggest pain points for utility companies that produce renewable energy.
Bitcoin mining is not constrained by locations. The operations can exist anywhere in the world, so the miners can utilize power sources that are inaccessible for most other applications.
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/why-bitc...2021-05-18
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06-12-2021, 02:44 AM
(This post was last modified: 06-12-2021, 02:58 AM by terracore.)
The biggest problem with "bitcoin" is that it serves no real purpose other than being a proof of concept. It's crazy to think that a proof of concept is out there burning more electricity than several countries combined for no other reason than FOMO. There are other cryptos that utilize blockchain using a fraction of the power and actually serve a purpose (like Ethereum). And others still that use so little energy they make the concept of turning bitcoin 'green' obsolete. Bitcoin is the largest distributed supercomputing project ever undertaken by human beings and the final product is.... absolutely nothing. Imagine if 12 gigawatts per minute (and growing daily) of energy was being burned on research for cancer. Or on the SETI project, or on... ANYTHING else. BTC is proof that an infinite number of humans with an infinite amount of resources will spend infinity searching for a finite amount of fiat currency.
But BTC is where the money is today. Cash in those tulips while you can...
Edited to add: The irony is that Hawaii is the only state that made access to crypto exchanges illegal, for no other reason than our elected officials are only capable of nonsense. They eventually capitulated in the last year or so, but the largest exchange in the world refuses to do business in Hawaii after having to close every Hawaii resident's accounts and the programming and customer service nightmare that caused them. I wouldn't expect any crypto farm investment capital here anytime soon (ever). As if our highest in the country electricity costs and second (?) highest tax rates wasn't enough, we have the most out-of-touch and obtuse lawmakers in the country.
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06-12-2021, 03:35 AM
(This post was last modified: 06-12-2021, 05:23 PM by HereOnThePrimalEdge.)
Bitcoin is the largest distributed supercomputing project ever undertaken by human beings and the final product is.... absolutely nothing.
Yes, and no.
Bitcoin has a value, as long as other people agree on that value. Just like US Dollars. What is a pre 1964 quarter worth? About $5.00 in silver, more if it’s a collectible. What is a 2020 quarter worth? 25 cents to most Americans. But what if there was an economic/financial collapse? The metal in a 2020 quarter would be near worthless, or like bitcoins, on what people agree it’s worth. A $100 bill is nothing but paper. I have some DM100,000 Deutschmarks, unfortunately they’re from before WWII, so worthless. I can’t use them to buy a brand new top of the line BMW convertible, but if I could I‘d sure look good out on Highway 130 when I drove to Hilo for my shopping at Target where I wouldn’t care how much the toilet paper cost this week. I can dream, can’t I?
... out-of-touch and obtuse lawmakers...
And without the skill set of leaders in a third world banana republic who can spot an opportunity when it’s erupting in their own backyard.
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Don’t forget that most “money” is just a ledger entry. Erasable at any time.
Puna: Our roosters crow first!
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(06-12-2021, 02:44 AM)terracore Wrote: The biggest problem with "bitcoin" is that it serves no real purpose other than being a proof of concept...
The only proof I've seen is rich people with too much time on their hands are willing to trash the planet to play with their money.
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They eventually capitulated in the last year or so
Meaning: cryptocurrency companies can now register ... and pay a fee ... so they can participate in a "pilot program" that runs through December 31, 2022. This is what passes for "innovation" in Hawaii.
The Digital Currency Innovation Lab will position Hawaii at the forefront of financial technology innovation and spur technology-based economic development in the State.
DFI will monitor all digital currency transactions taking place in the Digital Currency Innovation Lab.
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06-12-2021, 08:50 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-12-2021, 10:16 PM by HereOnThePrimalEdge.)
The Digital Currency Innovation Lab will position Hawaii at the forefront of financial technology innovation
Which as terracore pointed out is impossible given the current high cost of electricity in Hawaii.
I know it would be asking the state to walk and chew gum at the same time, but if they were serious about "financial technology innovation" there would be concurrent pilot programs for crypto and expanded geothermal. Geothermal power which could also be sold to Big Island residents at the cost of production, not tied to the cost of oil as it is now.
Cheap electricity for residents.
Jobs for residents.
What's not to like unless you're a Luddite who's against building everything except what you already own or might personally want in the future?
At least the consultants and Innovation Lab employees are benefiting from cryptocurrency. The rest of us are like Carl Spackler in Caddyshack, that time he worked for the Dalai Lama on a Tibetan plateau golf course. For a moment Carl thought he'd get stiffed on a tip, but then spoke up for himself, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know," and was bestowed a blessing.
"Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness."
"So... I got that going for me. Which is nice."
Very nice, and a lot more than we'll probably ever get out of this cryptocurrency deal.
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