EP76: Bitcoin Mining with Renewables in NZ with @simonocollins

Episode • Mar 13, 2023 • 1h 11m

There’s nothing a bitcoiner enjoys more than bursting a mainstream narrative.

If we really are “bOiLinG tHE oCEans”, why is it that Simon and his colleagues at www.Stackr.co.nz are Bitcoin mining with renewable energy and providing stability to the electricity grid in New Zealand’s South Island. It really is a head scratcher, isn’t it.

We talk to Simon about:

The abundance of energy sources the further south you go in New Zealand (Hydro, Wind, Solar and Geothermal)
Flexible demand management to lift the performance of the grid
Texas and power purchasing agreements
Vertical integration with power producers
The transition from public sector consultant to full-time degen Bitcoin miner
Is NZ one of the best places to mine
His progress from CPU to GPU to Shitcoins to Bitcoin mining
Scaling up, building resilience and staying profitable in a bear market
The current explosion in hash rate
Funding
Home mining
Using “crypto” as a test bed for anything worth doing on Bitcoin
Ethereum rugpulls
Doing a PhD on the last financial crisis
The duck curve
Bitcoin Alive