Since 2019, rising fossil-fuel costs have forced the mining industry to rethink the “cost–reliability–compliance” triangle: on one side, hydropower, solar, and wind have become increasingly cost-effective; on the other, storage, grid flexibility, and interconnection lead times are still catching up. Against this backdrop—and the anxiety miners feel about all-in power costs (capex + opex)—we sat down with ViaBTC Founder and CEO Haipo Yang for a deep dive.
How much of Bitcoin mining is using clean energy today, and where is it headed?
Haipo Yang: The share of clean energy has been rising steadily. As fossil-fuel prices climbed after 2019, more miners moved to cleaner sources with a better cost curve. From what we see in ViaBTC’s user sample, roughly 40%–50% of miners still rely on fossil fuels; the rest primarily use clean energy. Hydropower remains the dominant clean, dispatchable source—it accounts for about 30%–40% on its own. Solar, wind, associated gas, and other emerging sources together are still under 20%, but that percentage is clearly trending up.
Miners who stick with fossil energy are usually in resource-rich regions. Texas is a good example: strong grid and infrastructure, ample natural gas, and plenty of sites. In other places where fossil resources are abundant but transmission is constrained or wheeling costs are high, operators will monetize surplus power locally through mining.
Hydropower has long been the favorite clean source. Russia, Canada, parts of South America, and Africa all have abundant hydro. Leading Russian miners tend to cluster in hydropower-rich Siberia; Paraguay, Bhutan, and Ethiopia have attracted large operators such as Bitdeer and HIVE Digital thanks to utility-scale dams.
Solar has drawn a lot of attention recently, but firming solar with storage remains a constraint, so most setups run on a PV-plus-grid model to keep supply stable. Using associated gas from oil and gas fields is also common in Canada, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Argentina. Nuclear hasn’t seen broad adoption in mining—high capex, siting, and licensing cycles extend timelines. And while waste-to-energy generally carries higher generation costs, non-recourse financing and policy support ha
Go to Source to See Full Article
Author: Haipo Yang Founder and CEO of ViaBTC
