By Bitcoin Revista - hai 4 meses - Tempo de lectura: 5 minutos
Bitcoin A minería pode axudar a combater as emisións de metano
Tradicionalmente, a industria mineira foi vilipendiada polo seu impacto ambiental e uso de enerxía. Este artigo describe a industria na que a minería pode ter un impacto positivo inmediato: as operacións de combustibles fósiles.
Fondo
The run-up to November 2023 COP28 in Dubai has seen a flurry of activity from the world’s three largest economies on the question of energy sector methane. That month, China published its long-awaited Methane Emissions Control Action Plan, followed by the China-US Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis and the European Council and Parliament announcing a deal on new rules to cut methane emissions in the energy sector. Prolific emitters, like Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, added themselves to the 150 signatories of the Compromiso global de metano.
The momentum continued, with 50 oil and gas companies that represent 40% of global petroleum production signing the Carta de descarbonización de petróleo e gas and committing to end methane emissions and routine gas flaring by 2030.
Finalmente, o mundo está a despertar o feito de que se queremos ter algunha posibilidade de limitar o quecemento global a 1.5 graos para 2050, debemos actuar con decisión para deter a descarga e queima de metano das industrias mundiais de petróleo, gas e carbón. .
Pero entre a emoción, esquécese que reducir a queima e a ventilación do metano implica necesariamente capturalo e utilizalo. Unha pregunta que ninguén parece facer é que facer con todo este metano.
O malo e o feo do metano dos combustibles fósiles
The atmospheric methane emissions have tripled since the start of the industrial revolution, believed to be responsible for 0.5 degrees of the 1 degree warming we saw to date. The International Panel on Climate Change states that if we are to have any chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees by 2050, we must act decisively on methane.
o International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Methane Tracker estimates that one-third of man-made methane emissions comes from the production, transportation, and use of fossil fuels. This totals around 120 million tonnes of methane annually, evenly split between the oil, gas, and coal industries. The impact is equivalent to 10 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide – more than the Estados Unidos' Da UE CO2 emissions combined.
o IEA’s Net Zero by 2050 roadmap states that in order to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, the energy sector must reduce its methane emissions by 75% by 2030, predominantly through the “the rapid deployment of measures and technologies to eliminate avoidable methane emissions by 2030. "
o Methane Tracker shows that 75% of global fossil fuel methane emissions come from 10 regions:
The Potential Role Of Bitcoin Mining In Greenhouse Gas Reduction
En setembro 2022, Oficina de Política Científica e Tecnolóxica da Casa Branca published a report on Implicacións climáticas e enerxéticas dos criptoactivos nos Estados Unidos. One of the report’s conclusions was that “crypto-asset mining operations that capture vented methane to produce electricity can yield positive results for the climate, by converting the potent methane to CO2 during combustion…; could potentially be more reliable and more efficient at converting methane to CO2 [than flaring]... and …is more likely to help rather than hinder U.S. climate objectives.”
o IPCC estimates that over 20 years, a tonne of methane has a climate change impact equivalent to 80 tonnes of carbon dioxide. Hiveon, a top-rated suite of mining products, calculates that using otherwise vented methane to generate the electricity needed to produce one Bitcoin would lead to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 6’000 tonnes of CO2, or the annual emissions of 1,400 passenger cars in the US.
"Recoñecemos as emisións de carbono da industria criptográfica, pero tamén cremos na súa capacidade para actuar como unha ferramenta importante na loita contra o cambio climático. Por iso lanzamos Hiveon Energy, a project in the intersection of the blockchain field and traditional energy industries. It’s our contribution to making mining more sustainable while also helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” – Andrii Garanin, vicepresidente de Hiveon Energy.
Just 1MW of Bitcoin mining equipment could destroy over 800 tonnes of methane annually, providing greenhouse gas reductions equivalent to a typical 140 MW solar facility in the US. With just the global Bitcoin industry requiring 10-15 GW of power generation capacity, it has huge potential to reduce methane emissions.
Por que a minería
o Estimacións da IEA that it’s possible to capture and use 75% of the methane vented from oil and gas production and about 50% from coal. Methane is a valuable commodity, but there is a reason why so much of it is vented rather than sold or utilized.
Isto débese a que a maioría do metano do sector enerxético ventilado é case por definición gas varado. Os operadores de combustibles fósiles están orientados ao lucro, polo que se tivesen unha forma de monetizar o metano desperdiciado, teríano usado.
O metano ventilado procede de rexións como Shanxi, Mongolia Interior, Oriente Medio, Caspio, etc. Estas rexións xa son produtoras masivas de combustibles fósiles, polo que teñen poucos clientes de gas natural. Debe ser transportado aos clientes como GNL, a través de gasodutos ou como electricidade, o que implica grandes investimentos en infraestruturas, así como importantes barreiras legais, regulamentarias e comerciais.
Estes investimentos teñen longos períodos de recuperación, polo que son un reto no contexto actual onde o mundo necesita reducir rapidamente a súa produción de combustibles fósiles.
A industria mineira pode actuar como comprador global de gas natural varado. Os mineiros non necesitan acceso á rede nin aos mercados eléctricos: só o subministro de gas, un terreo e unha conexión a internet.
O máis importante é que, debido a que estes proxectos poden usar solucións modulares e móbiles, o equipo pódese mover de forma sinxela e barata en caso de problemas localizados en torno á subministración de gas ou á demanda de enerxía.
Cal é o próximo?
Undeniably, the global crypto industry is a large consumer of electricity, part of which comes from the burning of fossil fuels. But it’s also a major potential customer for otherwise vented methane, providing an enormous opportunity to reduce methane emissions globally.
A principal barreira é a falta de coñecemento dos responsables políticos mundiais e da industria mineira sobre o funcionamento desta empresa. A pesar dos retos, necesitamos políticas que promovan o uso do gas ventilado, ou polo menos que non o dificulten con normativas como a prohibición total da minería.
Como afirmou o doutor Sultan Al Jaber, "O mundo romperase se non reparamos as enerxías que usamos hoxe. O mundo romperase se non mitigamos as emisións a unha escala de xigatóns".
This is a guest post by Andrii Garanin. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Revista.
Orixe orixinal: Bitcoin Revista