How Norway has turned into a green oasis for Bitcoin mining

cnbctv18.com:

A report published by Arcane Research revealed that, despite its minuscule population and geographic spread, Norway is now home to a flourishing Bitcoin mining industry.As per data from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, the average annual global power consumption of the Bitcoin mining industry was around 15.92 gigawatts (GW). Using this data and by mapping-out all the Norwegian mining outfits, Arcane was able to identify 120-megawatts worth of active Bitcoin mining coming from Norway alone.

That's equivalent to 0.75 percent of the total Bitcoin mining hashrate.It's not much of a surprise given that several Bitcoin mining giants, such as Northern Data, COWA, Bitdeer, and Bitzero, have set up shop in Norway in the last couple of years. These giants are also accompanied by a handful of smaller operations, such as Kryptovault and Arcane Green Data.Also Read:How does Bitcoin work as a hedge against inflation?What drew all these miners to Norway?Bitcoin mining has drawn a lot of flak from regulators and environmentalists across the world.

This is because it guzzles stupendous amounts of energy, most of which comes from fossil fuels. Therefore, miners are now mindful of picking green energy sources for added sustainability.According to the Arcane Research report, Norway generates 88 percent of its energy requirements from hydroelectric power due to its mountainous terrain and wet weather.

A further 10 percent comes from wind energy, and the remaining is supported by natural gas, which is consumed by its offshore oil operations. This means that 100 percent of Norway runs on green energy with a zero-carbon footprint.