Bitcoin mining vs EV's & the Grid

   As large loads on the grid increase, the more integrated they have to become. The last thing the grid needs is 2 million EVs plugging in during peek demand, or GW of electricity going to Bitcoin mining when it is required for A/C during a heat wave. Fortunately both these types of load can be, & already are very flexible in avoiding peek demand times.
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Grid Load Balancing

Bitcoin pros
  • Large scale Bitcoin mining can & is easily integrated / co-located with power generation allowing greater coordination
  • Bitcoin can incentivize renewable build out
  • Small scale demand response such as home mining for heat can be turned off during peek demand with variable tariff schemes such as Octopus saving sessions and Octoplus
EV Pros
  • EVs can Pause charging when load is high ( Demand/response )
  • EVs are idle for 90% of their life offering greater flexibility as to when they charge, possibly going weeks without need
  • EVs will be a MUCH bigger load than Bitcoin. As an 2 X EV driver I know they account for half of my total energy consumption.
  • EVs can incentivise renewable build out
  • EVs are already responding to cheap off peak electricity on a large scale by charging at night for 1/4 the price
  • some EVs can return electricity to the grid at peek times (Vehicle To Grid)
Bitcoin cons
  • Industrial scale Bitcoin miners need much greater up time (>80%) to remain profitable.
EV cons
  • Can not re-locate to stranded methane generation.

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Power consumption comparison

   Global Electric Vehicle sales continue to grow exponentially with 28M EVs on the road in 2022.
   Here's a comparison of EV electricity consumption (Car + Bus + Lorry) vs Bitcoin electricity consumption. While the trajectory of EV electricity consumption is relatively easy to predict, Bitcoin is not so easy, many unknown factors like government policy.

CONCLUSIONs

  • Which will be the perfect companion for electrical power generation ? Predominantly EVs but both are already happening, all that is required is a variable price signal from the supplier, Miners & EV chargers will happily gobble up all that cheap clean electricity but EVs have the flexibility advantage.
  • ​EV's use 3 times as much electricity as Bitcoin mining.
  • ​Despite all the "BITCOIN WILL BOIL THE OCEANS 😱" FUD, Bitcoins Power Consumption / Emissions are not currently, & may never be that big of a deal when compared to banking & insignificant compared to other sectors etc. Is that a con ? 🤷🏻‍♂️

Fud (Fear UNCERTAINTY & Doubt)

"bitcoin has wiped out the emission savings of switching to electric vehicles" Alex De Vries

Alex is known to work for the Dutch Central Bank (a definite conflict of interest) & seems to have made a career of complete exaggeration.
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​As you can see this has never been even nearly true.
​   The emission savings of switching from Banking to Bitcoin could be MUCH larger !