Watched a video on YT about (I think it was Marathon) facility in TX. Uses as much electricity as Dallas to operate, and the people that live close to it hated the noise. 103 decibels in their backyard 24/7. That is a lot of juice to not "produce" any goods. Our grid is already suffering here. I had no idea about this. All I've heard is how much energy AI needs. Now combine the two-we are not prepared.
Bitcoin Miners
- Thread starter rekit
- Start date
People no longer mine bitcoin as the rate of return diminished over time. The only way it is worthwhile is stealing electricity like mining at work using your own wireless internet and your own computer, etc. It is a waste sure, but so is mining diamond just for financial gain.
Everything uses electricity including Netflix. I am sure we all want to have all we want without wasting energy but in the end how do we define what is good or evil? At the moment AI promise real productivity gain so hopefully it gives us more quality of live than its cost if the work is done by an extra human, etc. Nobody will know until decades down the road.
Everything uses electricity including Netflix. I am sure we all want to have all we want without wasting energy but in the end how do we define what is good or evil? At the moment AI promise real productivity gain so hopefully it gives us more quality of live than its cost if the work is done by an extra human, etc. Nobody will know until decades down the road.
i have one such facility less than 2 kilometers from where i live. and it is connected to a massive power grid. it is a very surreal place. the ATV trail pass just beside it. Hydro Quebec has a massive facility near it. the area has many electric dams. including Manic 5. tons of electricity in the area.
People don't mine anymore, but large-scale industrial centers do:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/LfQPYadBmFBU6quNA
This is the Whinstone Mining Farm in Rockdale, Texas. Notice what's directly next to it? A GIANT electrical substation. That's because it uses upward of 750 MW/year in electricity.
To the south is an Alcoa aluminum plant. Well, it was. It's closed now. Industrial-scale mines co-locate near facilities like this because they have massive infrastructure nearby. As manufacturing dies off and big plants like this Alcoa unit shut down, the need for that electrical infrastructure sinks. Bitcoin mining moves in to suck up the newly available capacity.
I thought most of the Bitcoin mining moved offshore now - due to electricity costs. I guess if the infrastructure is already here.
But I do agree with the OP, the whole "proof of work" concept for bitcoin is just wasted resources.
But I do agree with the OP, the whole "proof of work" concept for bitcoin is just wasted resources.
Long term exposure of over 85 db is hearing loss territory.
100db is like living on a runway.. but the noise being 24x7!
100db is like living on a runway.. but the noise being 24x7!
At my previous job I had a coworker who lived in an apartment with electricity included. He was running a heavy server off of the stove plug. That worked out pretty well for him.
He cooked with a microwave and griddle.
That is because nuclear power plants became all things evil by the voters in the USA. We have a lot of catching up to do. I think the public is now more accepting though typically we wait until disaster to act.
Fukushima didn't help.
I know a few business savvy folks who dabble in cryptocurrency mining, and it is a cash on the barrelhead kinda of business because more then a few companies go under and default on their bills. One person told me it’s because the power consumption cost is way more than the uneducated expect - not sure how true that is but it sounds plausible.
Yeah, agree, but it's the lack of critical thinking. If people want power you have to ignore an issue here or there on the other side of the world. Which the world has over 400 nuclear reactors. It's easy to scare people. China knows this and why they will pass us by in the coming decades. While we fool around with costly unreliable solar and wind and fossil fuels to back them up when the sun doesnt shine or the wind blows. Never mind those two do not add stability to the grid as referenced to some in here.
There is another being built in nearby Taylor tx, the local residents complained, yet its still being built.
There is also a Rock Quarry going in less than 1/2 mile away from a state funded kids camp, a state park with underground caverns, and another state park abutting a hydro electric dam. The legislature failed spectacularly to pass a bill to ban such quarries. I knew it would fail due to political corruption and I will open a hot dog stand nearby but will need some heavy air filtering masks.
It is all about making dollars not coins. Commercial mining operations have to sell most of the coins immediately because the electric company, the bank that loaned them dollars for real estate and equipment, and all their other suppliers only want dollars. The excess coins that represent profit are also likely sold immediately to bank as dollars rather than risk their volatility.
Similar threads
- Locked