TL;DR
- TEPCO, through its subsidiary Agile Energy X, is mining Bitcoin using surplus renewable energy.
- The initiative seeks to prevent the waste of green energy and encourage its growth.
- The project could generate additional revenue for clean energy producers and encourage further investment in this sector.
TEPCO, Japan’s largest power company, has begun to venture into the world of Bitcoin mining through its subsidiary Agile Energy X.
This company uses surplus renewable energy from solar and wind farms to power mining equipment, an innovative solution that seeks to harness energy that would otherwise be wasted due to overproduction.
This approach is considered pioneering in Japan, where regulation of surplus power, known as “output control ,” has been implemented to prevent overloads on the power grid.
Kenji Tateiwa, president of Agile Energy and former head of TEPCO’s nuclear division, conceived this project in 2018 when he noticed that a large amount of renewable energy in Japan was being wasted because it could not be stored or used.
It was then that Tateiwa saw in Bitcoin mining an opportunity to turn that surplus into a profitable source of income.
Although Bitcoin has been criticized in the past for its high energy consumption, this initiative demonstrates that crypto mining can be an ally of clean energy growth if production surpluses are used intelligently.
Agile Energy X has installed mining equipment alongside solar farms in Gunma and Tochigi prefectures.
The company is experimenting with using this energy at times when production outstrips demand.
According to the company’s simulations, if Japan achieves renewable energy accounting for 50% of its total electricity supply by 2050, a large amount of energy is expected to be wasted.
Using just 10% of this surplus to mine Bitcoin could generate up to ¥360 billion (approximately $2.5 billion ) annually.
An opportunity for Bitcoin with renewable energy
The Agile Energy X practice is not only innovative, but could also become a model for other countries to follow.
In the United States, for example, companies in Texas are already using surplus renewable energy to mine Bitcoin, which has boosted that country’s global leadership in crypto mining.
Japan could follow this trend, especially as more green energy enters the system and the need to tap into surpluses grows.
Although the amount of energy subject to “output control” in Japan is currently not sufficient to make Bitcoin mining profitable on a large scale, the scenario will change as renewable energy production increases .
The ability to generate additional revenue through Bitcoin can motivate more energy producers to introduce green technologies, making the transition to clean sources more economically viable.
With the Japanese government aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, projects like Agile Energy X offer an attractive way to balance energy production and consumption, making the most of available resources.
