Tokyo Electric Power Maximizes Energy Savings With Bitcoin Mining

Key Points:

• Agile Energy X, a Tokyo Electric Power subsidiary, uses surplus renewable energy from solar farms to power Bitcoin mining operations.
• The initiative provides renewable energy producers a new revenue stream and encourages further investment in green energy.

According to a report by Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo Electric Power’s subsidiary Agile Energy X is sustainably mining Bitcoin from excess renewable energy.

Read more: Nvidia Stock Decline Shows Bitcoin Is Still Much More Stable

Tokyo Electric Power’s Subsidiary Transforms Wasted Energy into ¥360 Billion Bitcoin Opportunity

Tokyo Electric Power, one of Japan’s largest utilities, established Agile Energy X in 2022 to seek novel uses for surplus electricity. The company has placed Bitcoin mining units near solar farms in Tochigi and Gunma prefectures, Japan. Due to curtailment, these farms have been converted to waste.

Renewable energy producers, particularly solar and wind power, have been forced to dampen their production more often than not to avoid overloading the grid. A really big chunk of green energy goes to waste. Output control has caused a loss of 1,920 gigawatt-hours of power, enough to supply 450,000 households nationwide in 2023 alone.

Agile Energy X’s solution leverages this challenge. The company captures this wasted electricity by setting up Bitcoin mining rigs next to renewable energy sites and funnels it into powering the power-intensive process of Bitcoin mining. It’s estimated that if 10% of that excess is used to mine, it could rack up to ¥360 billion annually, or $2.5 billion.

Green Energy Gains a Boost as Bitcoin Mining Reduces Renewable Waste

Agile Energy President Kenji Tateiwa said that technology reduces energy waste and opens a new stream of revenue for renewable energy producers.

“If Bitcoins were to provide a new source of income for similar power producers, who are being exposed to overinvestments, that would prompt more green energy to be introduced,” Tateiwa said.

The initiative by Japan goes hand-in-hand with the growing trend in other parts of the world, such as El Salvador, where geothermal energy is now being used in mining Bitcoin. It also runs counter to claims that Bitcoin is bad for the environment and proves that mining can indeed incentivize the use of clean energy in the first place while reducing waste to a minimum.