Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), Japan’s largest electricity provider, has started mining Bitcoin through its subsidiary Agile Energy X using excess renewable energy that would otherwise be wasted, According to reports from Asahi.
Breaking News: 🇯🇵 Japan’s largest energy company TEPCO is mining #Bitcoin Excess energy use. pic.twitter.com/ZrsmbV7mv6
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) September 9, 2024
Tokyo Electric Power Company founded Agile Energy in 2022, with over 27 million residential and commercial customers, and is now exploring Bitcoin mining using surplus renewable energy. The subsidiary has installed mining rigs next to solar farms in Gunma and Tochigi prefectures in Japan.
The initiative helps reduce the waste of green energy from solar and wind farms that have to cut back on production to avoid overloading Japan’s power grid. This energy is now being converted to generate bitcoin.
“Green energy producers have to operate on the assumption that some of the energy they generate is wasted.” Kenji Tatewa, President of Agile Energy, said:“If Bitcoin provides a new source of income for similar energy producers, who are over-invested, it could drive more green energy adoption.”
The project demonstrates how bitcoin mining can spur the growth of renewable energy by providing additional revenue streams for producers. Tatewa said bitcoin profits could encourage more investment in clean energy to power mining.
Other countries are also exploiting surplus renewable energy to mine Bitcoin, such as El Salvador, which uses its geothermal energy. This dispels the myth that Bitcoin is a danger to the environment, as mining uses a large amount of energy that would otherwise be wasted.
More and more companies and countries are trying to find ways to turn waste and excess energy into more valuable money on Earth. As the use of renewable energy sources increases, Bitcoin mining will help reduce wasted energy and emissions.