The owners of flower greenhouses near the capital of the Netherlands, Amsterdam, have begun to save more and more on using expensive natural gas to generate electricity, made possible by channeling the heat generated by cryptocurrency miners to heat flowers.
On average, the amount of heat generated from six bitcoin miners is enough to heat one standard greenhouse in the amount of about 15 thousand euros. According to the flower farmers, they buy bitcoin miners because they are happy to be able to mine bitcoins, either on their own or as part of a mining pool.
The observed heating of the air after entering and leaving the miners is about 20ºС. From a technical point of view, bitcoin miners require regular checks, cleaning them from dust, as well as from possible insects that may be in the equipment due to the proximity of the plants themselves and the soil.
The Netherlands grows a significant amount of its agricultural products in greenhouses, so the potential for further use of heat from bitcoin miners is significant: in monetary terms, the Netherlands is the world's No. 2 exporter of agro-industrial products after the United States (No. 1). Some flower farmers are also considering incorporating bitcoin as a financial option into their work.
According to Dutch media, a number of local farmers noted that they are not worried that bitcoin is now worth about 16 thousand dollars, although in November 2021 it reached 68 thousand. Entrepreneurs are guided by the long-term perspective of bitcoin, as well as building a multi-year business strategy for growing flowers.
More information: France24