France Floats 5‑Year Bitcoin Mining Pilot to Soak Up Surplus Power

A group of French lawmakers submitted a proposal to authorise energy producers to redirect surplus electricity into Bitcoin mining, all through a five-year trial. 

The bill, submitted on July 11, states that crypto mining can be used as a tool to reduce energy waste and hence alleviate pressure on nuclear infrastructure, as well as generating new revenue streams for the national grid.

The bill is now under review in the National Assembly. If approved, it would mark the first formal integration of Bitcoin mining into France’s energy infrastructure policy.

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Bitcoin Mining and Excess Energy

The bill highlights two key points. First, electricity producers are often forced to sell excess power at a loss due to limited storage options, and second, the strain on nuclear plants, which are required to adjust output when renewables flood the grid. Lawmakers argue that this system leads to avoidable economic and energy waste, calling it an “unacceptable economic and energy loss”.

Therefore the plan is to build data centers near power production sites to convert unused electricity into Bitcoin, and these sites could be located in abandoned industrial buildings. This approach, accordingly, would create economic value without affecting energy availability for households or businesses.

Lawmakers also propose using heat exchangers to capture and repurpose that heat to warm buildings or support industrial processes. This approach, they note, is already in active use in Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.

“Another advantage of Bitcoin mining is the production of heat, typically considered waste, which can be recovered”, the proposal reads, adding: “Mining computers emit considerable heat, which can be captured via heat exchangers to warm buildings, agricultural greenhouses, or power industrial processes.”

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