Next time someone tries to poo-poo the renewable credentials of Bitcoin mining, remember AmityAge Mining Farm. Founded by Gabriel Kozak and Dušan Matuska, the Bitcoin (BTC) mining facility uses human and animal waste to generate electricity for mining.
Matuska, the man “who met Satoshi Nakomoto,” told Cointelegraph that “Methane from biodegradation processes runs our machines.” As human and animal waste isn’t running out any time soon, the facility’s BTC mining process is both environmentally friendly and renewable.
Matuska and his colleague rigging up the Bitcoin miners in the plant. Source: Dušan Matuska
According to Matuska, using renewable energies such as biogas “shows that we can really accelerate the adoption of these renewables and make their return on investment higher in the end,” while it’s also a cheap energy source.
An ecologically sound and low-cost way of generating electricity, biogas electricity plants convert waste into methane gas due to a fermentation process. The gas is then burned as fuel.
A steaming hot delivery of unmined Bitcoin, ready for energy transfer. Source: Matuska
Matt Lohstroh, co-founder of Giga Energy — a natural gas Bitcoin miner in Texas — told Cointelegraph that “finding cheap energy [for Bitcoin mining] quickly is the largest issue. All the low-hanging fruit is being plucked away.”
Matuska added that “The situation with energy in Europe changed dramatically in November with a huge price increasing together with a conflict around the corner.” As Lohstroh alludes, turning a profit with Bitcoin mining can be tricky, which keeps Matuska both “busy and worried.”
However, an eternal optimist, Matuska also told Cointelegraph:
“The most exciting part [about Bitcoin mining] is knowing that we are like ‘Bitcoin security guys,’ helping just a little with our hash rate. We are still helping to protect the network.”
Matuska added that the overall environmental “footprint is pretty low” for the plant and that one of the excesses is “mostly excessive heat.”
Matuska, a “Bitcoin Security Guy,” in front of the biogas facility. Source: Matuska
For those interested in getting into Bitcoin mining at home, the process used to be complicated and costly, but solo mining is making a comeback. Compass Mining, the pioneers of Bitcoin mining at home, launched direct-to-consumer hardware sales in late 2021.
Whit Gibbs, CEO of Compass, told Cointelegraph that BTC miners are some of the biggest Bitcoin bulls. He illustrated the point: “You could buy $10,000 worth of Bitcoin, or you can buy an ASIC (Bitcoin mining machine),” knowing full well that it should return the initial investment over a “12- to 14-month” period. He concluded:
“You have to be bullish on Bitcoin to believe that you’re going to see that return in a timely manner as opposed to just buying that amount of Bitcoin outright.”
