Japanese power giant TEPCO explores ‘green’ Bitcoin mining: Report

A subsidiary of the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) is reportedly venturing into Bitcoin mining as part of an endeavor to save wasted renewable energy.

The Tokyo-based TEPCO subsidiary Agile Energy X is experimenting with harnessing waste solar energy to power Bitcoin ( BTC ) mining rigs, with its president, Kenji Tateiwa, claiming its success “would prompt more green energy to be introduced,” local outlet Asahi Shimbun reported on Sept. 8. 

He added the inspiration for the concept came from Japanese “output control” practices where renewable energy production is sometimes curtailed — a deliberate output reduction below what could have been produced to balance supply and demand or align with transmission constraints.

Agile Energy X has installed mining machines near solar farms in Gunma and Tochigi prefectures near Tokyo to catch and use potentially wasted energy.

Asahi Shimbun reported a total of 1,920 gigawatt-hours of power were subject to output control across Japan in 2023, or about the annual power consumption of 450,000 households.

Meanwhile, Agile Energy’s simulations showed that if renewable energy were to account for 50% of Japan’s power supply, 240,000 gigawatt-hours could be wasted annually through curtailment. 

The firm estimated that using 10% of this surplus power for Bitcoin mining could generate around $2.5 billion (360 billion yen) in BTC every year.

Tateiwa said that more green energy could be introduced if BTC mining were to produce profits that could be part of corporate earnings.

Related: 54% of institutional investors in Japan plan to invest in crypto: Survey

“Maybe US utilities should wake up and smell the roses,” said Fred Thiel, Chairman and CEO of Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital Holdings, in an X post that shared the report. 

“While the EU has been busy gaslighting Bitcoin, Japan has been busy researching it,” added ESG advocate and researcher Daniel Batten.

Source: Daniel Batten

Similar incentives are being used by crypto mining firms in the United States, primarily in Texas , a leading state for renewable energy that can be harnessed for grid balancing.

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