Senator Ted Cruz of the United States says that instead of flaring natural gas, his country should use it to mine Bitcoin (BTC), as Bitcoin mining could be used to capture wasted renewable natural gas.
Senator Ted Cruz stated at the Texas Blockchain Summit on Friday that Bitcoin mining may be used to monetize energy produced by oil and gas extraction rather than burning it, claiming that there is an “enormous opportunity for Bitcoin […] to capture that gas instead of wasting it.”
Cruz said that half of the natural gas flared in the country is presently being burned in West Texas, according to a recording of the event published on social media by Coin Metrics CEO Nic Carter.
He continued, “It’s being wasted because there is no transmission equipment to get that natural gas where it can be used the way natural gas is normally used.”
“Use that power to mine Bitcoin. Part of the beauty of that is the instant you’re doing it you’re helping the environment enormously because rather than flaring the natural gas you’re putting it to productive use.”
Cruz stressed Bitcoin mining‘s ability to respond automatically to variable energy supplies, claiming that electricity could be returned to the grid promptly in the event of a power outage or shortage.
“I anticipate to see a drastically altered landscape in five years, with Bitcoin mining playing a big part in enhancing and hardening the grid’s resilience,” he added.
“There are a lot of areas on Earth where the sun shines a lot and the wind blows a lot, but there aren’t any power lines, and it’s not economically practical to use that energy,” Cruz said, adding that Bitcoin can be used to harness untapped energy around the world.
“The beauty of Bitcoin mining is that if you can connect to the internet, you can use that energy and derive value from those renewables in a way that would be impossible otherwise.”
El Salvador recently announced plans for a state-backed Bitcoin mining facility powered by renewables, echoing Cruz’s belief that Bitcoin mining may be an efficient way to gather renewable energy.
Following China’s ban on industrial Bitcoin mining operations in May, Bitcoin mining has become a crucial sector for the state of Texas.
Many miners moved to Texas for cheap and plentiful renewable energy, while others looked to Kazakhstan, Norway, and Canada for low-cost green power.
