Topic: crazy idea: use bitcoin to fund construction of a solar/wind/etc power plant - page 2. (Read 3854 times)
October 09, 2014, 02:39:40 PM
I'm usually not that blunt, but this has been tried before and it went to shit:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.861305
Basically you are betting that you will be offsetting your initial cost of installing the plant against electricity cost of your mining competitors. Thing is, the major farms are getting such low electricity as they buy in bulk, they are way ahead of you.
Basic example:
You: 100'000 for a smallish plant, completed in x weeks, months.
Your competition: With 100'000 they can get electricity for 230kW for about a year at 5 cents.
Your competition is mining _now_ whilst you need to build that plant.
Please crunch your numbers before attempting this. Include network difficulty and exchange rate numbers too.
Also, internet speed is not that important for mining. The stratum protocol uses little bandwith. Depending on distance and topography you also could use a wifi antenna to reach several kilometers.
October 09, 2014, 02:07:01 PM
to be clear: i have zero expertise in anything related to this and very little general managerial experience. i've worked quality assurance in the game industry, have a basic level of skill with fiberglass and such, and right now am driving for Uber, as a glorified taxi.
this spawned from the 3 acres or so my in laws live on in north texas (45 minutes north of dallas) that they don't put to any use. i was thinking it'd be great to set up some solar to cover our own needs, then the thinking just kept growing. biggest problem we have is broadband internet... JUST a little out of range of cable company coverage. no DSL, even. i'm connected via a 3g cellular connection right now...
i'd love to be a part of something like this, even if limited in scale. there's rivers and lakes around me too. no idea on regulatory stuff. was just bouncing the idea.
small is certainly the way to go. test it out, then expand and such. if land on a river proves too costly, and toxic manufacturing is a concern, perhaps mirrors to boil water to turn a steam turbine? god knows it gets sunny as hell around here... still 90 degrees out today.
again, i'm just talking right now. thought the idea might get some interesting discussion. as for acting, that's down the line a wee bit.
this spawned from the 3 acres or so my in laws live on in north texas (45 minutes north of dallas) that they don't put to any use. i was thinking it'd be great to set up some solar to cover our own needs, then the thinking just kept growing. biggest problem we have is broadband internet... JUST a little out of range of cable company coverage. no DSL, even. i'm connected via a 3g cellular connection right now...
i'd love to be a part of something like this, even if limited in scale. there's rivers and lakes around me too. no idea on regulatory stuff. was just bouncing the idea.
small is certainly the way to go. test it out, then expand and such. if land on a river proves too costly, and toxic manufacturing is a concern, perhaps mirrors to boil water to turn a steam turbine? god knows it gets sunny as hell around here... still 90 degrees out today.
again, i'm just talking right now. thought the idea might get some interesting discussion. as for acting, that's down the line a wee bit.
October 09, 2014, 01:40:11 PM
well your idea is BIG both literally and figuratively. But that's the point, who knows, you could be one step away from the next big thing. 
October 09, 2014, 12:57:17 PM
if your serious about this idea, there's money to be made!
Just crowd fund it through an asset exchange. But you gotta prove yourself before investors will fund you.
eg. nxt asset exchange, xcp asset exchange. (http://coinmarketcap.com/assets/)
Just crowd fund it through an asset exchange. But you gotta prove yourself before investors will fund you.
eg. nxt asset exchange, xcp asset exchange. (http://coinmarketcap.com/assets/)
October 09, 2014, 11:04:07 AM
Today you can buy anything with Bitcoin and it's the next craziest thing. But you can't buy Facebook with all btc in circulation.
October 09, 2014, 10:47:48 AM
Yes, very interesting. I've read abit about stuff like this. I would like to do it myself at one point, when conditions allow for it. Have you considered blogging about this? I for one, would love to see the project unfold.
yeah... Im probably going to film a bit of the project and will let you guys know if I throw in an asic or 2.
October 09, 2014, 10:45:37 AM
Haha. That's so cool! Do you need a permit from your local govt for that? Or do you don't bother about that?
No permit needed but it is better to get one as my country allows for a reversible meters where excess electricity goes back into the grid effectively making the grid act as the battery and removing the need for banks of batteries. With microhydro you design the system to meet all your electrical needs during peak usage and than the system will continuously produce that power. Any power not used at a given moment can be fed back into the grid creating a credit balance that can than be used in addition to the microhydro later on or you can use the excess electricity to do other things like heat water.
Yes, very interesting. I've read abit about stuff like this. I would like to do it myself at one point, when conditions allow for it. Have you considered blogging about this? I for one, would love to see the project unfold.
October 09, 2014, 10:38:28 AM
Haha. That's so cool! Do you need a permit from your local govt for that? Or do you don't bother about that?
No permit needed but it is better to get one as my country allows for a reversible meters where excess electricity goes back into the grid effectively making the grid act as the battery and removing the need for banks of batteries. With microhydro you design the system to meet all your electrical needs during peak usage and than the system will continuously produce that power. Any power not used at a given moment can be fed back into the grid creating a credit balance that can than be used in addition to the microhydro later on or you can use the excess electricity to do other things like heat water.
October 09, 2014, 10:29:21 AM
we all know about wind and solar and other sustainable power systems. we'd all love to operate our mining rigs off them too. well, let's discuss what it would ACTUALLY take to do, even if only at small scale.
site selection, construction costs, operating costs, tying into the grid to sell the power we didn't use for the hosted mining farms...
i mean, collectively we certainly have a chunk of money. let's consider putting some to use!
think about it: there's plenty of business hosting mining rigs. all that comes down to is cost of electricity and rent. so we use our power plant and the land it's on to host mining farms. then any extra power, we sell to the local grid.
or maybe just skip the hosted mining and stick to building a power plant. "you used your bitcoins to do WHAT?"
site selection, construction costs, operating costs, tying into the grid to sell the power we didn't use for the hosted mining farms...
i mean, collectively we certainly have a chunk of money. let's consider putting some to use!
think about it: there's plenty of business hosting mining rigs. all that comes down to is cost of electricity and rent. so we use our power plant and the land it's on to host mining farms. then any extra power, we sell to the local grid.
or maybe just skip the hosted mining and stick to building a power plant. "you used your bitcoins to do WHAT?"
There exist readymade solutions where you could put a turbine or two in a river, and harvest the power. Of course, this would have a budget. Solar panels might have a toxic production process, so maybe they're not that environmental friendly when you look at the whole picture.
Is this a serious project? What's your expertise and background?
Of course he isn't serious, he posted an idea on a forum. If he was serious it would say "I am now putting together these things and figuring out what to do." Instead the OP is asking us to do leg work for him to entertain his idea. Forums are mostly places for people who want to talk about their great ideas and opinions, not places where anything gets done(for the most part). Check through the posts, hardly anything gets done because of these forums(unless you count advertisements popping up).
sigh.
October 09, 2014, 10:18:47 AM
I have done a fair bit of research with micro hydro because I want to install one on my farm soon.
Haha. That's so cool! Do you need a permit from your local govt for that? Or do you don't bother about that?
October 09, 2014, 07:55:17 AM
cost of turbine and power utility?
Around 8k usd will afford you a microhydro system for 4KW. So 4-6 decent mining asics would be powered. This would net a break even point of between 1.5-1.7 years on investment from electricity alone vs asics using paid power. System life before replacement is 15-25 years.
I have done a fair bit of research with micro hydro because I want to install one on my farm soon.
October 09, 2014, 07:51:24 AM
Maybe you can set up a firm where you get investors to contribute in btc and use the money to purchase solar powered mining rig. The returns from mining are then get paid back to the investors in btc.
Or find a company that specializes in this and jv with them. Then u don't have to worry on the tech part.
In this aspect electricity cost can be almost eliminated. Only the equipment cost (rig + solar), maintenance, .....yeah maybe viable in the long run
Or find a company that specializes in this and jv with them. Then u don't have to worry on the tech part.
In this aspect electricity cost can be almost eliminated. Only the equipment cost (rig + solar), maintenance, .....yeah maybe viable in the long run
October 09, 2014, 07:33:34 AM
until a 2kw solar panel able to support 24 hour mining (night and day) of a 1kw PSU powered mining rig is much cheaper than a thash mining rig. and also cheaper than 3 months of electric that would normally be spent, i see setting up a self sustaining mining power plant, to not be helpful.
Agreed, but micro-hydro could be used instead...
cost of turbine and power utility?
power plants cost billions to construct. I don't think there are enough btc in existence to build one.
October 09, 2014, 06:48:15 AM
until a 2kw solar panel able to support 24 hour mining (night and day) of a 1kw PSU powered mining rig is much cheaper than a thash mining rig. and also cheaper than 3 months of electric that would normally be spent, i see setting up a self sustaining mining power plant, to not be helpful.
Agreed, but micro-hydro could be used instead...
cost of turbine and power utility?
October 09, 2014, 06:44:28 AM
until a 2kw solar panel able to support 24 hour mining (night and day) of a 1kw PSU powered mining rig is much cheaper than a thash mining rig. and also cheaper than 3 months of electric that would normally be spent, i see setting up a self sustaining mining power plant, to not be helpful.
Agreed, but micro-hydro could be used instead...
October 09, 2014, 06:27:45 AM
until a 2kw solar panel able to support 24 hour mining (night and day) of a 1kw PSU powered mining rig is much cheaper than a thash mining rig. and also cheaper than 3 months of electric that would normally be spent, i see setting up a self sustaining mining power plant, to not be helpful.
October 09, 2014, 04:24:07 AM
I don't know in which country you are living in, but I think in a lot of countries, you can't just put a turbine into a river even if you own the land around it. I am not sure, to what extend a part of river can be yours. E.g. in Austria owning a forest does mean, you still have to allow hikers to go in there.
So, of which country you are talking about and have you checked the regulatory framework?
So, of which country you are talking about and have you checked the regulatory framework?
I forgot to mention this. Red Tape is very present in many locations, so it would need to be checked. Although, some places they have a 'no check, never ask' policy.. If you moved to a very remote place, then nobody would probably bother you, but then the logistics of getting the gear in, restocking etc. could be a problem. Perhaps there are some countries where anyone can put any production gear into the river?
To extend this idea, making a whole community around bitcoin, freeing everyone from the slavery of fiat, would be an interesting project. In some countries you can live and have a remote internet business and do not pay tax locally, legally.
October 09, 2014, 04:18:29 AM
I don't know in which country you are living in, but I think in a lot of countries, you can't just put a turbine into a river even if you own the land around it. I am not sure, to what extend a part of river can be yours. E.g. in Austria owning a forest does mean, you still have to allow hikers to go in there.
So, of which country you are talking about and have you checked the regulatory framework?
So, of which country you are talking about and have you checked the regulatory framework?
October 09, 2014, 04:07:48 AM
This would be an interesting idea. I guess we'd just have to wait and see who would be willing to lead this idea.
October 09, 2014, 04:04:16 AM
Hello,
Can i know more details about this location and excepted annual rate of return ?
Thanks
Can i know more details about this location and excepted annual rate of return ?
Thanks
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