On August 28, 2020, oil and gas giant Equinor announced[1] that it would be cutting its future flared gas volumes and bringing waste-gas to market by generating electricity and mining on the Bitcoin network. Equinor’s plans involve partnering with Denver-based firm Crusoe Energy Systems – Digital Flaring Technology.
Five months before Equinor’s announcement (on March 5, 2020), Greenidge Generation LLC, a Dresden, New York-based natural gas power plant, announced[2] that it could be making $50,000 per day with its excess energy if it were mining bitcoin. Greenidge Generation installed 7,000 bitcoin miners and upgraded facilities in order to maximize the amount of natural-gas energy that it could bring to market.
Both of these stories were Bitcoin industry-rattling news upon their announcements, especially to those of us paying close attention to the energy industry. The fact that these massive and well-established energy firms are investing in mining bitcoin establishes a profound truth: bitcoin mining is a serious and emerging energy-demand market that will shift the ways in which energy producers allocate resources in the future. Some of these producers are even sovereign nations — both Iran[3] and Venezuela[4] have announced the nationalization of mining the bitcoin network.
One key vertical within the energy industry is the power generation sector. These are commonly known as natural gas power plants, coal-fire power plants, etc. While these enormous facilities primarily exist to power cities and towns, there is another facet of this market that is not so commonly seen. They also serve rural industries and populations — also known as emerging and remote communities.
Due to the amount of stranded natural gas in North America (the U.S. and Canada, especially) there are companies looking to capitalize on the increasing demand for consistent
