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Isn't the incentive to use green energy pretty huge?
Not to miners. For them, the only incentive is to find the cheapest (also has to be reasonably reliable and available in the desired quantity). All the miner needs to care about is the price. Why should they care about how it is produced? Why would a miner want to be tied to one particular form of energy production when they could have the freedom to shop around? Why would they want (big one this) to make their business more complicated?
Bitcoin miners do not have to care. The current financial rewards mean that business is attracting those who really don't care.
In any case, the biggest problem is the sheer volume of energy being consumed. The share of the world's energy coming from Green and renewable energy sources is slowly increasing. Even in their current status as an experimental niche, PoW cryptocurrencies have the potential to completely outstrip that growth and increase the demand for fossil fuels. If they actually replaced fiat currencies, the amount of energy required to run the world's economies would be several times larger than the entire energy demand of the world today.
There's no such thing as free or even totally green energy. Setting aside land or water for energy production, construction, maintenance, even the significant waste heat generated (because no mechanical or electrical process is 100% efficient), it all adds up. And it would add up to a really big figure if BTC ruled the world.
itsbruce-
Not to miners. For them, the only incentive is to find the cheapest (also has to be reasonably reliable and available in the desired quantity). All the miner needs to care about is the price. Why should they care about how it is produced? Why would a miner want to be tied to one particular form of energy production when they could have the freedom to shop around? Why would they want (big one this) to make their business more complicated?
Because green energy is cheaper than fossil in the long run?
PoW cryptocurrencies have the potential to completely outstrip that growth and increase the demand for fossil fuels. If they actually replaced fiat currencies, the amount of energy required to run the world's economies would be several times larger than the entire energy demand of the world today.
Fair, agree.
And it would add up to a really big figure if BTC ruled the world.
I agree, but isn't that unlikely? The BTC blockchain is not very efficient for handling such large amounts of transactions. I feel BTC may be able to survive since it was the first, but other 1st and 2nd generation cryptocurrencies will die out if they don't move towards a more sustainable model. I feel we're currently living the 'internet bubble' all over again.
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The last point is very important. Production of solar panels and wind turbines requires a lot of resources including toxic mining for rare earths. At the end of their life span it is also difficult to recycle the equipment.
Heldring
hesa
Isn't the incentive to use green energy pretty huge? Green, renewable or 'free' energy significantly lowers cost of production.
Anyway, I still think PoW needs to go. Proof of stake definitely seems the way forward. That's one of the reasons I'm a fan of the Cardano project, currently. They recently signed a deal with the government of Ethiopia to track student performance on the blockchain.