Cows provide crypto mining eco solution
A FARMER is offering a green solution to the problem of crypto mining
– the new “Gold Rush” process of accumulating virtual currencies such as Bitcoin.
Philip Hughes is running banks of specialist computers in a shed on his Denbighshire farm that are powered by electricity generated from cow manure.
His 40 mining “rigs” run round the clock, making use of surplus power from the farm’s Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plant, which turns animal waste into renewable energy. The rest of the plant’s energy is used to power the farm and its campsite near Llandrillo, Denbighshire.
Philip hopes the arrangement will help address the Achilles’ heel of crypto mining – the consumption of huge amounts of electricity produced from fossil fuels.
“It’s a great fix and add-on to our energy production,” said Philip, who rears sheep and cattle at Hendwr farm. “Being a power generator with an AD plant meant I could add value to the surplus power we were making.”
Crypto mining involves using computers to solve complex equations, for which users are rewarded in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum and NEO.
Cambridge University estimates global Bitcoin mining has a bigger carbon footprint than Sweden and uses enough electricity each year to power all the UK’s kettles for the next three decades.
In May Elon Musk wiped billions off global crypto markets when he announced Tesla was suspending vehicle sales using Bitcoin, claiming crypto mining was bad for the environment.
It prompted a scramble to find more eco-friendly solutions – and to reconfigure cryptocurrencies so that producing them requires less energy.
Philip’s 40 rigs each cost around £18,000 and are around the size of a small suitcase. Over a three-year period each is expected to yield £30,000 per year, with the bulk of profits coming in 2021. Earnings from the farm’s AD energy are much greater than selling it to the National Grid at 4-7p/kwh.
Philip admits he is no “technogeek” but he said the technology is simple to operate – it just needs plugging into a normal socket.