https://www.buybitcoinworldwide.com/mining/china/#reason-2-e...
Reason #2: Excess Coal
Coal is the cheapest power source but also the dirtiest. It’s well-known that China has comparatively lax environmental policies. Major cities like Beijing are notorious for their high levels of smog, produced mostly by burning coal.
Energy producers can freely burn coal and use the energy for Bitcoin mining. Instead of physically transporting the coal, it’s easier and more cost-effective to establish a Bitcoin mining operation near a source of coal and convert carbon directly to crypto.
#Bitcoin enables Chinese entrepreneurs to export coal by burning it and using the energy to mine.
https://twitter.com/el33th4xor/status/623178828727361536
#Bitcoin enables Chinese entrepreneurs to export coal by burning it and using the energy to mine.
— Emin Gün Sirer (@el33th4xor) July 20, 2015
FTA:
Carbon footprint
Bitcoin’s biggest problem is perhaps not even its massive energy consumption, but the fact most mining facilties in Bitcoin’s network are located in regions (primarily in China) that rely heavily on coal-based power (either directly or for the purpose of load balancing). To put it simply: “coal is fueling Bitcoin” (Stoll, 2019).
https://www.wired.com/story/bitcoins-climate-impact-global-c...
Bitcoin's Climate Impact Is Global. The Cures Are Local. To measure bitcoin's contribution to global warming, you need to know where it is mined and where those computers get their electricity.
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Not so fast, said county officials. They pointed to a different culprit: a giant coal plant halfway across the state. If energy from the dam went to bitcoin mining, they said, the county as a whole would wind up using more coal. In April, officials required all future mines to build their own renewable power.
Missoula County was on the right track, says Christian Stoll, an energy researcher at the Technical University of Munich. In a paper published Wednesday in the journal Joule, his team takes a closer look at the energy consumption of bitcoin mining, based on where miners are located and the types of machines they are using. “Coal is fueling Bitcoin,” he says. “The question is how to prevent it, and that’s up to local regulators.”