Renewable Energy Transition Facilitated by Bitcoin

Abstract

Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions has been a top priority for activists, scientists, and policy makers across the globe, and it is one of the main drivers for the transition to renewable energy generation. Bitcoin is a decentralized global transaction network of an eponymous digital currency. It has been praised for its openness, decentralization, and censorship resistance, as well as criticized for its inefficiency, criminal use, and enormous electricity consumption. We discuss the challenges in the renewable energy transition, properties of the bitcoin network, and the role of bitcoin mining operations in the global energy production and consumption. Although the adoption path for bitcoin is likely to be volatile with an uncertain outcome, the opportunities offered by bitcoin mining in reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions and renewable energy transition are greater than generally assumed.