According to Duke Energy Corporation’s lead rates and regulatory strategy analyst, bitcoin mining is being studied at the second-largest U.S. corporation. Justin Orkney, lead analyst at Duke Energy Corporation, stated that a study on bitcoin demand response (DR), was in progress and that the energy company is partnering with bitcoin miners who are enrolled into Duke’s DR programs.
The Second Largest U.S. Energy Corporation is Now Interested in Bitcoin Mining
Troy Cross hosts the latest episode of “Bitcoin, Energy and the Environment”. It’s called ” Duke Energy Studying Bitcoin.” Justin Orkney, the regulatory strategy and lead rate analyst at the energy company, is featured in the podcast. Orkney and the podcast host discuss bitcoin’s utility and “really exciting opportunities” in relation to energy demand response programs.
DR basically gives energy consumers the ability shift or reduce loads to make the grid run more efficiently. Orkney explained that bitcoin mining is an example of DR. By being able “strategically find miners on the network — There’s an option to partner with such types of customers.” The majority of the conversation is about Orkney’s Solar background and pilot studies on demand responses. However, the analyst points out that bitcoin mining could prove to be a powerful technology for DR components.
“We are still exploring the general concepts — I am currently working on a Bitcoin demand reaction study to incorporate Bitcoin mining capacity into our systems with a focus in demand response functionality — We are looking forward to testing this technology,” Justin Orkney (lead rates and regulatory strategy analyst at Duke) stated during the interview.
Orkney stated that some of Duke Energy’s customers (NYSE: DUK) were bitcoin miners during the interview. Orkney told the host that there are existing customers to our system. They are willingly enrolled in our demand-response programs. These programs are basically agreeing to reduce usage during certain hours of the day when we call events.
“Bitcoin Mining Appears to be That Really Powerful Demand Respond Technology”
The majority of infrastructure in the U.S. is older than 20 years. Grid customers can use DR programs to help utilities manage peak demand. Some grid customers can even be bitcoin miners. To make older infrastructure more reliable, it is possible to manage insufficient transmission capacity more efficiently. Orkney stated that bitcoin mining could be a technologically advanced DR technique.
Orkney stated that bitcoin mining is a powerful demand response technology. They can be humming at a 100 percent power factor or using the same amount all day which is known as flatline. Then, in a matter minutes, they can reduce their electricity usage to a precise level.
The negative attention paid to Bitcoin mining in the last year has been about its energy consumption. According to reports, the network uses 91 terawatt hours of electricity each year. Many bitcoiners think that concerns over BTC’s energy consumption in mining are exaggerated. A study has been published and shows that Bitcoin uses 50 times less energy to mine than traditional banking systems.
Daniel Batten, an ESG analyst, published a report indicating that bitcoin mining could potentially eliminate significant amounts of methane leaked. He also stressed that no technology could do this better. Batten’s study suggests that Bitcoin could be used to strategically reduce global CO2-eq emissions up to 0.15% by 2045.
Duke, based in Charlotte, North Carolina distributes energy to approximately 7.5 millions electric retail customers. It also operates in six other states. Orkney explained that Duke, an American holding company for electric power and natural gases, manages 58.200 megawatts of electricity.
Reports show that Duke Energy Corporation is not the only one looking into bitcoin mining in the energy sector.
