Bitcoin Miner Is Scoring 700% Profits Selling Energy to Grid

Iceland, hit by the oil crises of the 1970s, turned to geothermal energy - and they haven't turned back. The island is now powered by 100% renewable energy, and they are taking it one step more, looking to further cut emissions using a unique carbon capture system called CarbFix. It is being pioneered at the Hellsheidi geothermal power plant in western Iceland.

An economic shift to renewable energy could take decades, but thanks to rapidly evolving disruptive technologies, dropping prices of solar and wind power sources, and increasing market demand for green business, the new age of renewable energy could encompass the world economy much more quickly.

Watergate Estate is working on two issues in South Africa: affordable housing and renewable energy. The housing development is installing solar panels for its residents that are being bought by people all over the world using cash or bitcoin as a way to offset their own carbon costs. Not everyone agrees that gated communities like this are helping to fight social inequalities, crime, and unemployment, but about 470 people bought solar cells for the apartment complex and some residents say they feel safer in their community.

Evides Waterbedrijf, a drinking water company, created Europe’s largest floating solar park. They installed almost 3,000 solar panels on an island in the middle of a reservoir that allows it to move with the sun to maximize its energy. This setup generates about 15 percent of the electricity the company uses at the site.

To make their restaurant more energy efficient and to cut its carbon footprint, The Publyk House utilized the services of Efficiency Vermont, a publicly funded energy efficiency utility. As part of their Deep Energy Retrofit program, the utility helped install insulation, LED lighting, and high-efficiency appliances at the restaurant, allowing them to save 50 percent on energy in two years. Since the start of the program, 10 businesses have been able to cut their energy consumption in half.

Boston University is getting all of its electricity from a wind farm in South Dakota, which should cover its annual energy needs of 205 million kilowatt-hours. Some energy advocates say the higher education institution should have purchased their renewable energy locally, but the university says their main goal was to maximize its reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. They hope to share their model with other “large energy buyers” and use the wind farm as an educational and research opportunity for students.

Four years later after a solar grid was installed in Uganda, residents of nearby villages are wondering when they will get some of that power. The 10-megawatt facility, which cost $19 million to build, was expected to provide electricity to about 40,000 homes, schools, and businesses in the area. However, almost all households in the 10 surrounding villages still use firewood for cooking. The lessons learned from this renewable energy project could help inform others as the country looks to power more parts of the country with solar panels.

As part of a deal with Facebook to build a data center in New Mexico, an electric utility is investing in renewable energy to power the center. Through power purchase agreements, which are contracts to buy renewable energy, the social media company is accelerating the state’s transition away from fossil fuels. These contracts often come with large tax breaks for companies, but Facebook will help finance $800 million worth of wind and solar installations that can generate 396 megawatts of power. These agreements can also be implemented in other states who are hardest-hit by the decline of coal consumption.

Dozens of states across the US are adopting programs that offer solar power for low-income communities in order to cut down on their utility costs and provide renewable energy that they previously would not have had access to. Some of these programs also incorporate other social goals into their programs, such as offering job training or developing sites of backup energy should there an outage. Solar development is currently one of the fastest growing industries in the US, and analysts predict that the nation will be able to hold over 2,000 megawatts of solar capacity this year alone.

UPS has converted about one-third of its diesel vehicles to electric power, a move backed by the British government to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and air pollution in London. While making the switch to electric reveled challenges with the city’s power grid, officials said they have been encouraged by the results of the pilot program, which could also be applicable to other modes of transportation like buses and ambulances in other cities around the world.