Green Bitcoin: The Rise Of Solar-Powered Mining

As per Investopedia According to Investopedia at the time of writing the number was around 18.77 million Bitcoins had been extracted across the globe. This is an enormous amount of Bitcoins, and, with it, even more in energy usage. In actual fact, Bitcoin mining uses around 91 terawatts of electricity per year. That’s over a third of the power consumed by cooling homes across the U.S. annually.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Bitcoin mining can have negative impacts on our environment. In fact, Elon Musk himself has announced via Twitter: “We are concerned about climate change and the rapidly growing use of fossil fuels in Bitcoin mining”. Since then, many have wondered if solar-powered Bitcoin mining is an alternative to conventional mining, which relies on grid power to generate electricity.

The amount of solar panels required to make Bitcoin is between 30 and 50 panels, but it all depends on the location you live in and the amount of electricity your mining equipment consumes. The majority of professional mining equipment draws around 3000 watts and a bitcoin miner consumes an average of 72 kWh per day.

In this article, we hope to explain how solar-powered bitcoin mining operates in order to help you harness more solar energy, to offset your carbon emissions and save money on expenses.

How much energy will it take to mine one bitcoin every day?

According to the Digiconomist’s Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index, it requires 1,444 kWh to make a bitcoin transaction. This is quite a lot of energy.

If we assume the cost average of US energy, which is 13.3 cents per kWh, the energy cost needed to create 1 bitcoin is:

1544kWh * $0.13 equals $200.72

At first glance, $13.9 cents may not seem like a lot. And this is true, but it’s contingent on the amount of kWh you use. I can guarantee you immediately that none of the Bitcoin mining devices on the planet can run on this tiny amount of power.

For instance, Bitcoin mining rigs like the Bitmain Antminer are well-known for consuming a significant amount of power!

How much electricity does Bitcoin Mining Make Use of?

This is completely dependent on the mining equipment. Below, we have put together an information table to check out the different power ratings of different mining equipment.

The majority of crypto miners do not leave their machines to mine all day. With this in mind, let’s figure out the number of kWh of power that the Antminer S19 would use in the course of a single morning of mine. Finding out the amount of energy (Wh/kWh) the appliance consumes by analyzing its wattage can be done easily. Simply multiply the power rating of your appliance (in this instance, 3000 Watts) by the amount of time you are planning to use it.
We want to achieve an ROI as soon as possible, so we plan to let our machine mine all day long.

3000 watts divided by 24 hours equals 72,000 Wh, equivalent to 72 kWh.

To provide you with more insight into the amount of electricity being used, let’s take examine the typical daily usage of electricity for the typical U.S. household. It is approximately 28,5 kWh. The process of mining bitcoin for 24 hours using the Antminer S19 would use two and one-half times more energy than the entire household in one day! That’s a lot of energy that you can offset using the solar power of your bitcoin mining device.

How many Solar Panels are required for Bitcoin Mining?

Mining bitcoin using solar energy is certainly feasible, though expensive. The number of solar panels that you require is contingent on the location in which you reside, as well as how much power your Bitcoin mining machine consumes. We’ve established the type of wattage of the most powerful mining rigs the next step is to determine the amount of sunshine (peak sunshine hours) your region receives to figure out the number of solar panels you’ll require.

Use the Global Solar Atlas to figure it out for yourself, if your country is not included in our databases as of yet. Use the map with the words Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI). Then, determine how many hours of sun during peak times your region receives, and then write the number down on a sheet of paper in someplace.

If you live in a place that is believed as being a little overcast (no one is pointing fingers at England) We would suggest against considering bitcoin mining rigs powered by solar or renewable energy sources.

More details to come on that later.

This formula can be used to calculate the number of solar panels you’ll need to build a bitcoin mining rig.

(Monthly Electric Usage / Monthly Peak Sun Hours) x 1000

Let’s set an example to help you.

Imagine you’re within the United States, in California.
California is home to an average of 5.2 peak sun hours per day. To calculate this, we need to know our region’s maximum sun hours for the month and not daily. multiply your results with 30 (amount of days within a month).

5.2 3 = 156 peak sunlight times in California.

Let’s now divide the monthly consumption of electricity by your most sunlit hours. We know that the Antminer S19 draws 3000 watts If you were to use it for 24 hours, it would require 7,220 Wh (72 kWh) per day. To calculate the monthly energy consumption, we divide the 31-day period.

72 times 30 equals 2,160 kWh for a month.

Now, you can apply the formula you have just used.

2,160 / 156 = 13,84

1384 x 1,000 = 13.846 Watts.

Now, you need to determine the number of solar panels you’ll require. To do this, you must divide the above figure by the solar panel’s proposed rating. Most solar systems for residential use install 400-watt solar panels, therefore we suggest using this power rating when setting up your solar Bitcoin mining rig configuration.

13,846 x 400 = 34,6 panels (round it off by 35)

To be able in order to counteract the power consumed to mine Bitcoin it is necessary to put 35 solar panel panels to your rooftop. All of them generate around 13,846 watts of renewable energy each.

That is it is necessary to have a solar system of 14kW for mining bitcoin using solar power.

13,846 watts divided by 1,000 = 13,84kW
Round off to 14kW

This example assumes that you reside in California.

Let’s try another one where you assume you are within London, England.

2.8 x 30 days = 84 peak hours of sun

2,160 / 84 = 25,71

25,71 x 1000 = 25,710 watts

25,710 / 400 = 64,27 solar panels are needed

As you may have guessed that this full power output is not feasible. If you don’t have a huge quantity of land and aren’t concerned about the high costs for solar panels the solar power option for Bitcoin mining in London isn’t feasible due to the absence of sunlight.

What is the cost of a solar Powered Bitcoin Mining Machine cost me?

It is worth noting that the Bitcoin mining device itself differs significantly in price. You can expect to pay between $1000 and $10,000 for the mining rig. Solar panel costs also depend on the size you choose to install as well as the location in which you live. For the U.S. for example these are the typical prices you can expect to pay in solar and wind power:

Average costs for solar panels in the U.S.

The average cost of Bitcoin mining rigs

The estimated price of a solar-powered bitcoin mining set-up

The cost is contingent on the type of mining equipment you have and how many you intend to utilize and the number of sunlight hours during the peak times your region gets. If you lived in California and utilize Antminer S19, the Antminer S19, you would require a solar array of 15kW to supply enough power to offset the bitcoin mining rig’s electric consumption.
Based on the table above, we can observe that a solar system with 15kW is on average costing $31,191 after tax incentives.

$31,191 + $8,500 = $39,691 for a solar-powered bitcoin mining rig

The solar system is the most expensive however, keep in mind the amount you’d be spending on electricity if it weren’t for these solar panels. If you use Antminer S19. Antminer S19 you would be spending about $290 per month for electricity. (This considers into account the U.S. average electricity costs into consideration, but some states are more expensive than other states.)

$0,13 x 2,232 = $290

How long would solar-powered bitcoin mining take to pay for itself?

If you live in California and use the Antminer S19, it would take 8,9 year for your solar panels pay for themselves.

This does not include the savings from no electricity or natural gas consumption. Profits from actual Bitcoin mining could be used as an additional boost to this process.

Solar-Powered Large-Scale Bitcoin Mining Operations

We are sure there are some people out there who would love to set up a solar-powered, utility-scale bitcoin mining operation. This section will answer your questions about whether this option is feasible. We will walk you through the steps of a hypothetical large-scale mining operation. This will allow you to decide if this is an option for you.

Example – 10 Mining Units

Example – 50 Mining Units

Example – 250 Mining Units

The above calculations assume that your electricity cost is $0.12/kWh. It doesn’t include any maintenance or installation costs. Finally, the entire operation requires space and land. The cost of land is not included in the calculations as it is very subjective. Our solar information was sourced from NRE, and our bitcoin information came from Asicminer Val.

You’ll notice a faster return on your investment if the bitcoin mining operation is larger. This is due in large part to the fact that the cost per watt drops substantially when you reach utility grade solar system sizes.

Where is SOLAR-powered CRYPTO mining taking off?

The U.S. is the leader in computing power in the field of crypto mining, performing more than any other nation. The following cities have the greatest amount in solar power generated per person with regard to solar power production.

• Honolulu, HI
• San Diego, CA
• Albuquerque, NM
• San Jose, CA
• Burlington, VT
• San Antonio, TX
• Las Vegas, NV
• Phoenix, AX
• Riverside, CA
• Denver, CO

Are there tax breaks for SOLAR-powered CRYPTO mining?

In the event that your mining operation business is classified as a business venture and you are eligible to use the technology required to operate the business as an expense tax-deductible.

There is also a range of tax credits and grants offered to homeowners as well as companies that have solar panels. At present, there is federal solar tax credit U.S. government offers a 30 percent tax deduction for solar installations until 2032. This tax credit will decrease to 26% by 2033 and then 22% in 2034.

Pros & Cons Of Solar-powered Crypto Mining

Key Takeaways

The quantity of solar panels that are used in the mining systems is essential to the overall solar project itself. A solar panel is susceptible to cloud cover and therefore the most suitable location for mining is in the desert, where every square meter in panels is utilized to produce as much power as it is possible.

A location like West Texas is ideal for this kind of solar projects to power Bitcoin mining. Bitcoin miners that use fossil fuels to power their machines like the grid that powers the purpose of a cryptocurrency mining machine may gain from using any form of solar panel in adequate amounts.

A solar farm must have a large battery system in order to make sure that the energy generated from the sq meters of the solar panel could be stored in the event that the sun isn’t shining. A battery with a capacity of 500-600AH bank will provide enough to power a home for this function.

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Thomas Harder

Is an environmental and renewable energy specialist with over 10 years of expertise within the renewable and solar industry.
With over a decade of experience in various organizations within the field, He runs MySolarPerks as a passion-driven project that promotes sustainable renewable energy ideas and products.