North Vancouver will be the first city in the world to be heated by bitcoin mining after the city partnered with Lonsdale Energy Corporation (LEC) and MintGreen; two leading energy companies that are transforming the renewables and crypto mining sectors.
Firstly, LEC is a district energy wholly owned by the City of North Vancouver. As the company advances in its decarbonization plans, it will introduce bitcoin mining as a novel solution for delivering energy and reducing its carbon footprint.
Moreover, LEC will deploy the bitcoin mining solutions through a partnership with MintGreen, a Canadian cleantech cryptocurrency miner that is disrupting the industry with its trademark Digital Boilers. These devices recover more than 96% of the electricity used for bitcoin mining. They do so in the form of heat energy to sustainably heat communities and industrial service processes.
Consequently, LEC will introduce these Digital Boilers to its energy source to deliver heat to the district energy system. MintGreen’s Digital Boilers will prevent 20,000 tons of GHGs from entering the atmosphere per MW compared to natural gas.
As a result, the partnership will deliver an environmental benefit when heating the city; while allowing MintGreen to produce the bitcoins in a costly manner. About the matter, LEC’s CEO, Karsten Veng, commented. “Being partners with MintGreen on this project is very exciting for LEC. It’s an innovative and cost-competitive project; it reinforces the journey LEC is on to support the city’s ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets.”
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North Vancouver, leading the way of green energy districts
Furthermore, the project comes as the buildings sector presently accounts for 40% of carbon emissions in urban areas. Also, “district energy systems are emerging as a best practice approach for providing a local, affordable and low-carbon energy supply.” Said the UN Environmental Programme 2015 report.
It also highlighted that “district energy represents a significant opportunity for cities to move towards climate-resilient, resource-efficient, and low-carbon pathways.” In addition, in 2019, the City of North Vancouver Council passed a motion for the city to increase its GHG reduction targets to achieve net-zero by 2050; to reduce emissions by 80% below 2007 levels by 2040.
On the other hand, MintGreen CEO, Colin Sullivan, said. “The complex issue of climate change requires innovative solutions, and LEC, with the City of North Vancouver, is showing tremendous leadership in environmental stewardship.”
Finally, the solutions will enter the city by 2022. In Veng’s words, this project would be the launchpad for future expansion opportunities for the parties; particularly for the city, as it continues to grow.
