Bitcoin mining energy consumption rebounds from a post-halving trough

S&P Global Commodity Insights' Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index ticked up from a post-halving trough in the week ended May 16 as mining activity returned and power prices recovered.

With bitcoin miners ramping up activity, their energy consumption increased to 938.37 MWh/Bitcoin on May 16, up from the post-halving trough at 907.19 MWh/Bitcoin on May 10.

The index reflects energy consumption per bitcoin mined using a standard graphic card Antminer S19 Pro, which has an average 110 TeraHashes per second (TH/s), consuming 3.25 Kilowatts.

By the market close, Commodity Insights' Renewable Bitcoin Quarq Spread Index showed a rebound in profitability in Finland following almost a month of volatile power prices.

Finnish prices fell sharply to settle at Eur11.65/MWh ($12.65/MWh) for May 17 after the return of the 1.6-GW Olkiluoto-3 reactor on May 16.

Finnish power prices had spiked to Eur136.24/MWh on May 8 and Eur121.18/MWh on May 13 on delays to OL3's return.

In Norway (NO4 price zone), Bitcoin mining profitability exceeded $50/MWh on May 15, a multi-month low, as hydro power stocks jumped 17% week on week to 38.92 TWh, or 30.7% of total capacity.

Platts assessed Nordic hydro Guarantees of Origin for the current-year vintage at 72 euro cent/MWh on May 16, a multi-year low.

The drop in power prices in Norway on the back of the recovery of hydro stocks resulted in higher bitcoin mining profitability compared to Spain, which registered strong solar generation in the weekend of May 11-12.

Weekly solar output moved above wind output for the first time this summer, with wind generation falling to the lowest level since mid-September.

The glut of green generation saw Spanish solar capture prices close to zero through much of February to May.

Platts Renewable Capture Price Indices track the weighted average prices that renewable energy generators receive for the electricity they produce across a daily period, based on hourly generation and pricing data.

Commodity Insights' Renewable Bitcoin Quarq Spread Index presents the bitcoin mining profitability on a grid-based delivered electricity accounting for renewable certificates for both the US and Europe across 43 regions.

Platts is part of Commodity Insights.