Bitcoin Policy Institute proposes using wasted Scottish wind power for mining

what happened

As Crypto Briefing reports, citing a Bitcoin Policy Institute report, surplus wind electricity in Britain could be directed to Bitcoin mining instead of being wasted. In 2024 British authorities paid wind operators 393 million pounds to cut 8.3 TWh of output, and 98% of that curtailment happened in Scotland, where turbine capacity has grown faster than the transmission lines running south.

The authors describe miners as buyers of last resort: they take in energy that has no practical outlet and do not require it to be delivered over long distances. Their main advantage is flexibility, since mining hardware can quickly ramp consumption up or down, unlike AI data centers that need steady supply. A May 2026 modeling study cited in the report found that a 20 MW mining site beside a 100 MW wind farm could absorb 83% of the curtailed output, raising system revenue by 32% and lifting the farm's capacity factor from 29% to 32%.

The report also flags barriers, chiefly banking restrictions, along with inconsistent investment and tax rules.

why it matters

For miners, the appeal is cheap energy that would otherwise go unused. Lower power costs improve the chance of keeping margins intact, but profitability still depends on the BTC price and network difficulty. The report does not provide cost figures for specific miners, so the economics rest on modeling. Access to banking services remains the main obstacle for such sites in Britain.

market impact

Bitcoin miners: cheap surplus wind power could lower costs for UK-based mining sites.

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