French lawmakers have proposed channeling excess nuclear power for BTC mining

What’s new? A bill to incentivize the energy and mining industries has been submitted to the lower house of the French parliament, the National Assembly. The document outlines a five-year pilot program to allow nuclear power plants to divert excess energy, which is often lost during periods of low demand, to cryptocurrency mining.

Text of the bill

What else is known? According to the Association for the Development of Digital Assets (ADAN), allocating just 1 GW of excess energy to miners could generate $100-150 million a year.

This revenue could help offset the fixed costs of maintaining nuclear capacity, monetizing energy that would otherwise be sold at a loss.

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The bill was tabled a month after lawmakers called on the government to examine whether bitcoin mining could absorb excess energy generated by France’s nuclear power plants.

At the time, they noted that France’s energy system is facing increasing strain due to the spread of renewable energy.

For example, the large share of renewable sources regularly leads to imbalances in the grid, including instances of overproduction that force producers to sell power at a loss due to a lack of storage.

These unused surpluses represent unacceptable economic and energy losses, the lawmakers noted.

To solve this problem, French lawmakers are pushing to place bitcoin mining centers near nuclear power plants.

These centers would only be activated when there is a surplus of power, offering a flexible method of stabilizing the grid in real time without affecting power supply to consumers.

Lawmakers cite, among other things, the experience of other countries where some former factories or decommissioned power plants have already been converted into mining farms powered by carbon-free electricity.

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The paper also emphasizes the secondary benefits of bitcoin mining. For example, mining facilities can generate a significant amount of heat, which can be redirected to district heating systems, greenhouses, or industrial plants.

The deputies cited Finland as an example, where the heat generated by mining is used to support agriculture and sustainable infrastructure.

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If the bill is approved, the pilot project will start immediately and will last about five years under the supervision of the French Council of State. After six months, a report will be prepared to assess the feasibility of wider implementation.