That seems like a shocking lapse in planning when installing very expensive solar arrays. Can you point to an example? Does this happen frequently enough that there’s nearly always somewhere to run a miner?
"[Bitcoin mines] are often built beside hydroelectric plants set up along mountain streams. These plants often produce more energy than they can sell to China's state grid, and some plant owners have found they can either sell the surplus to bitcoin mines or set up their own mines."
They have a huge transmission line across Texas for Wind Power. I’ve heard sometimes electricity prices go negative at night due to excess wind power. There are actually tons of free nights electricity plans to match.
What will actually happen is the power producers buying what are, effectively, space heaters. You can never rely on negative power prices sticking around.
I think they are saying that let's say you install wind turbines. Great, you use them as much as possible during the day when electric demand is high. So, then it is night and the supply exceeds the demand due to the fact that this energy can't be stored (or only in a limited fashion). This "wasted" electricity might be a great way to extract value from otherwise wasted electricity. I've said this to friends, I don't know why the power companies wouldn't be mining with electricity that would otherwise be dumped. It is just another channel of demand.
