Oddbean new post about | logout
 Few people realize how under-utilized power generation in the world is. Power generation MUST be built for peak loads, even though most of the time they don't see anywhere close to that level of consumption. 

Think about that for a moment. It's like having a business that has to build a factory capable of producing multiples more product than it can sell at any given moment. 

This is part of why our power infrastructure has been slowly degrading and why there has been so little new investment in the space. It's just a very tough business model. 

Bitcoin change this. The ability for Bitcoin miners to be installed anywhere with an internet connection and rapidly turn on and off in response to demand makes it an ideal load balancer and gives power generators the possibility to monetize all that extra generation capacity, which can be reinvested into infrastructure and new generation capacity. 

It's a beautifully virtuous cycle that helps to raise the average load, and the margins of power generating businesses and gives us all more access to power, at cheaper prices.

https://i.nostr.build/ljkA.png 
 Not mining Bitcoin is a waste of energy.

nostr:nevent1qqspt4ahsn69v9z3uj6z5pqnlk0t4w66x6cs59g8tw9h4s7mh9hxjdqpr9mhxue69uhhqatjv9mxjerp9ehx7um5wghxcctwvspzq9eemymaerqvwdc25f6ctyuvzx0zt3qld3zp5hf5cmfc2qlrzdh0qvzqqqqqqylwgwjr 
 Thanks for the pushups reminder🤝 
 YES. Bitcoin needs more energy usage. 
 Clearly stated 👍 
 My god.... you just gave me the best idea with your post.
What if I have fam&friends near the equator run a node on solar power?  
 it won't have power for exactly 12 hours a day, all year round. 😉  
 A node on solar during the night. I'd expect some off-grid people in the BTC community. Nobody you know doing something with batteries? 
 nostr:nevent1qqsqk7v6xe6ue6mhgr9gws62kk45pumyrfazr67wu92xzayvf6vtkccpz9mhxue69uhkummnw3ezuamfdejj7q3qf5pre6wl6ad87vr4hr5wppqq30sh58m4p33mthnjreh03qadcajsxpqqqqqqz7d359y 
 There's an easy answer. Charge for power on a demand curve. 
 This is already the case in many (most?) places. The resolution of demand/price changes isn’t very high but it’s there.