The percentage of the global Bitcoin mining industry running on renewable power increased by 1% to 58.5% in the fourth quarter of 2021 according to new data.
The Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC) announced the findings of its fourth quarter survey on Jan. 18.
The survey focused on three metrics: sustainable power mix, technological efficiency and electricity consumption.
Q4 #Bitcoin Mining Council Survey Confirms Improvements in Sustainable Power Mix and Technological Efficiency. Estimated sustainable energy mix was 58.5%. Join us at 5pm ET today for a full briefing.https://t.co/t1gTZV9GtT
Founded in May 2021, the BMC is a voluntary global forum of Bitcoin mining companies such as Bit Digital, BitFury, Bitfarms and Atlas Mining, and other industry organizations.
Michael Saylor, the Founder and CEO of MicroStrategy, and a key member of the BMC noted:
The voluntary survey compiled sustainable energy information from miners accounting for more than 46% of the global Bitcoin network. According to the survey, the members of the Mining Council itself are harnessing electricity with a sustainable energy mix of 66.1%.
The self-reported data was then used to estimate the global Bitcoin mining industry’s sustainable energy mix was approximately 58.5% during Q4, an increase of one percentage point on Q3's figure. The industry’s estimated technological efficiency grew by 9% as well, to 19.3 petahash per MW.
Co-founder of Core Scientific and the BMC Darin Feinstein noted that the hashrate of the BMC participating members increased by 77% in Q4.
Related: Georgian citizens made to swear an oath to stop mining crypto
The environmental impacts of Bitcoin mining have been heatedly debated for some time and U.S Congress is now preparing to take a
Read more on cointelegraph.com