.CambridgeAltFin's latest research into bitcoin mining suggests the mix of sustainable electricity being used is in decline. By JamieCrawley
Cambridge University's Centre for Alternative Finance's latest research into bitcoin mining suggests the mix of sustainable electricity used is in decline.
It found that emissions intensity for 2021 was 506.71 gCO2e/kWh, compared to 491.24 in 2020. Data for this year is so far only available up to January, so no conclusions can yet be drawn for 2022 for the time being.Since 2019, the CCAF's Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index has provided a daily estimate of the amount of electricity used by bitcoin mining globally. Additionally, its, rolled out in 2020, is used to visualize the geographical distribution of mining activities.
The uptick in fossil fuel emission intensity in bitcoin mining from 2020 to 2021 could be attributed to a collapse in the share conducted using hydropower since. In 2020, the CCAF found that China accounted for 65% of the world's total hashrate, with the majority of mining activity there powered by either hydropower or coal . Hydropower's share in 2021, however, was down to 18.5%, with coal's reduced slightly to 38.2%.