According to PANews, a recent study by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance at the University of Cambridge's Judge Business School reveals that the use of sustainable energy in Bitcoin mining has risen to 52.4%. The report highlights that natural gas has overtaken coal as the largest single energy source for Bitcoin mining. Sustainable energy sources, including 9.8% nuclear energy and 42.6% renewable energy such as hydropower and wind, now account for over half of the energy used in Bitcoin mining. This marks a significant increase from the estimated 37.6% usage of sustainable energy in 2022.
Natural gas now constitutes 38.2% of the energy used in Bitcoin mining, up from 25.0% in 2022, while coal usage has decreased to 8.9%, down from 36.6% in the previous year.
The study, based on data representing 48% of global mining activity, estimates Bitcoin's annual electricity consumption at 138 TWh, which is approximately 0.5% of the global total. The network's emissions are estimated at 39.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e).
The data further underscores North America's pivotal role in the digital mining industry, with the United States accounting for 75.4% of the reported Bitcoin mining activity, followed by Canada at 7.1%.
