Energy Incentives Make Bitcoin Mining a Natural Fit for B.C., Canada

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When it comes to bitcoin mining, Canada is a
natural.
A temperate climate helps to keep mining
equipment cool, and plentiful renewable energy
from hydroelectric dams gives Canadian
provinces like British Columbia a natural
advantage with cheaper electricity costs.

B.C. is sitting on a large surplus of hydroelectric
energy, as depleted resources have resulted in the
closures of many pulp and paper mills and
traditional mines. The power surplus is also a
result of the success of alternative energy and
energy conservation initiatives.
Consequently, the B.C. government’s energy arm,
BC Hydro, is actively looking for new businesses,
including bitcoin miners, to take up the slack and
help revive stricken resource towns, and it has
proposed a discounted energy rate as an
incentive.

BC Hydro , a B.C. government Crown corporation,
is a leader in green energy programs in Canada.
Scott Howard, CEO of Toronto-based Full Stack
Capital, told Bitcoin Magazine that he is
encouraged by the B.C. proposal and that the
province is a leader in alternative and green
energy programs.
“BC Hydro and B.C. in general set the pace for
public sector innovation in Canada. This is good
news both for energy conservation and for bitcoin
mining’s environmental footprint.”

He added, “Bitcoin mining as a base load
strengthens the power grid. Effective power
generation and distribution requires a stable base
load that digital mining can provide.”
BC Hydro’s business development manager, Dina
Matterson, said at an energy conference recently
that half of the new inquiries the Crown
corporation is getting are from the crypto-mining
industry, and it is estimated that the inquiries
could drum up 5,000 megawatts in new energy
demand.

Matterson said they will be submitting a proposal
in early 2019 to the British Columbia Utilities
Commission , which regulates BC Hydro, for a
“load attraction rate,” an initial discount on
electricity for new corporate customers, including
cryptocurrency companies.
“This rate would help BC Hydro compete with
clean jurisdictions that have lower power rates
than us,” she told the conference participants.

“We need to get in the game.”
The B.C. government hopes to connect the
lumber, pulp and paper, and traditional mining
companies, which have invested in generating
substations and transmission lines, with new
bitcoin mining startups that would rent these
power utilities at reduced rates.

For example, bitcoin miners in Ocean Falls, B.C.,
are successfully using previously abandoned
power-generating stations and transmission lines,
and a new bitcoin mine is under development in
Houston, B.C., a once-thriving lumber town.
To date, BC Hydro has provided bitcoin miners
with six megawatts of power, although the utility
believes there are many more crypto miners
operating in the province.

B.C.’s attempt to lure cryptocurrency
entrepreneurs to make use of its abandoned
infrastructure and surplus power resonates with
global trends that signal an uptick in
cryptocurrency mining.
A recent report from the University of Cambridge
Centre for Alternative Finance flagged the
exponential increase in crypto-mining operations
around the world in 2018.

China remains the top country to host mining
farms, but the U.S. and Canada have witnessed a
rapid growth of mining-farm openings over the
past year, often associated with the availability of
cheap hydroelectric power, says the report.
Ameer Rosic, CEO of Toronto-based Blockgeeks,
is enthusiastic about the future of bitcoin mining,
especially in the Canadian setting, telling Bitcoin
Magazine :

“Since the beginning Canada has been at the
forefront of Bitcoin. I think the timing couldn’t be
better for Canada to attract more bitcoin miners.
B.C. has very affordable electricity and the cost of
ASICs has decreased tremendously. This is a
golden opportunity to stimulate local economies
and put Canada as a leading player in the bitcoin
mining space.”

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/