The Canadian oil company Bengal Energy wants to use excess energy from gas wells to mine bitcoin. Moreover, it intends to concentrate 70 BTC miners in a portable building near Cooper Basin.

Demand for alternative energy sources

Proof-of-work-based DeFi systems (such as Bitcoin) cannot exist without cryptocurrency mining. This is a process that consumes a lot of electricity, which is why Participants in this market are often targeted by activists committed to protecting the environment.
Considering the alarming climate changes we face nowadays, it would be desirable to invent other, more planet-friendly ways to power the so-called cryptocurrency miners. Some companies associated with the digital asset sector are already looking for alternative energy sources.
Bengal Energy hasn’t had any involvement with the crypto world so far, but someone on the board of directors came up with the idea to use the unused energy from gas wells for mining.

The Bengal Energy initiative

Bengal Energy is an international oil and gas company. The company’s chief operating officer, Kai Eberspaecher, announced that Bengal Energy intends to deploy about 70 cryptocurrency miners powered by unused energy from gas wells originally owned by Santos Energy and Bridgeport Energy.
The wells are located near Cooper Basin in Australia. However, before the energy from these wells can be used to produce BTC, the company must deal with the problem of damaged distribution pipelines. Disruptions in global supply chains caused by the pandemic are responsible for their current state.
According to the report, if the company manages to utilize these energy sources, it will generate an income of $2 to $5 million per day.

Coal waste as an energy source?

The trend of looking for alternative energy sources is also reflected in the initiatives of other companies. Stronghold Digital Mining, for example, a company based in Pennsylvania, has declared that it will start using coal ash, which is the residue of several decades-old power plants, to mine cryptocurrencies.
The coal waste will be properly processed and sent to a boiler room, where it will be burned to generate electricity. The company’s initiative deserves recognition because coal ash contains heavy metals. If not isolated from the environment, it can contaminate water and pose a health risk to humans.