Bitcoin mining ban in China a ‘game changer’ for electric veh | Bitcoin Industry
Bitcoin mining ban in China a ‘game changer’ for electric vehicle adoption.
Guizhou province is the first in China to announce an ambitious electric vehicle campaign, taking advantage of the power capacity freed up by Beijing’s Bitcoin mining ban.
Following Beijing’s crackdown on energy-sapping Bitcoin (BTC) mining, Guizhou province has become the country’s first to make use of its freed-up power capacity to advance a climate-conscious agenda.
The hydroelectric-rich southern province has recently announced a plan to build at least 4,500 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in 2021.
As the South China Morning Post reported, Beijing’s pressure on Bitcoin miners has freed up over 50 terawatt-hours of electricity — enough to sustain an industrialized city with a population of 1 million for 33 years or to fulfill the charging needs of 10 million Tesla Model 3s a year.
On the global stage, China has been an early and decisive mover against crypto mining, forcing pools that had once profited from cheap, surfeit power to close up shop and relocate overseas. Provincial authorities in Guizhou are now seizing upon that surfeit to incentivize the region’s 38 million residents to adapt their habits in line with Beijing’s decarbonization commitments. Cao Hua, a partner at the private equity firm Unity Asset Management, told reporters that Guizhou’s EV plan is “a double dose of good news for China’s economy”:
“Cracking down on power-consuming Bitcoin mines and using the excess capacity to support development of the future of mobility is the best example of how China endeavours to reach its carbon neutrality goal.”
Guizhou, one of the country’s lowest per-capita income levels, aims to have installed 38,000 EV charging stations by 2023, with at least one in each town and 20% of car park bays at shopping malls reserved for EV charging points. Both local residents and manufacturers have told the South China Morning Post that they expect provincial authorities to offer incentives and consumer discounts to bolster uptake.
Upstream in the production line, one local EV battery supplier said that the industry is already taking its cue from the new agenda. “We are considering to branch out to those areas because they may roll out more incentives to lure companies making products complying with their environmental policies,” he said.
