Bitcoin Energy Markets with Shaun Connell - WBD492

Shaun Connell is Executive VP of Power at Lancium and an energy
trading expert focused on incorporating Bitcoin mining into
energy transition services. In this interview, we discuss the
fundamentals of energy trading, the need to balance energy supply
with demand, and the symbiotic relationship between Bitcoin
mining, renewables and the energy grid.


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If climate change forecasts are to be believed, the implications
for society are profound. Many believe that the sources of energy
that enabled our society to thrive and prosper over the past 250
years need to be replaced by alternative types of energy deemed
to be more sustainable. Others fear that such a transition risks
millennia of civilisational advancement.


The debate around climate change and energy is therefore highly
charged. And yet, there is a significant deficit in our general
understanding of how the energy system works.


Wind and solar are now the cheapest sources of energy, so why
aren’t we rapidly progressing to 100% renewable energy grids? If
we need to decarbonise the grid, why do wind and solar producers
have to curtail energy production? If Bitcoin mining is becoming
an increasingly more significant user of energy, why are grid
managers increasingly seeking to assimilate it?


Whatever the reasons for the ignorance of the energy system, and
whether or not it has been or will be exploited by special
interests, the obvious concern is that it will lead to bad policy
being formulated at a critical time. Knowledge is power.