By Susie Violet Ward · Forbes · 25 March 2024
In early 2024, Iceland’s then Prime Minister, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, raised the question of whether the country’s renewable energy should go to bitcoin mining or to food production. Iceland relied heavily on imported food, and according to The Observatory of Economic Complexity it exported about $234,000 of tropical fruit while importing more than $9 million.
The article argues that Iceland does not have to choose between the two, pointing to projects that use waste heat from mining to grow food. Bitcoin Brabant in the Netherlands uses heat from solar-powered mining for businesses and greenhouses, and Prague-based entrepreneur Kamil Brejcha grows “cryptomatoes” with heat from mining powered by bio-waste energy. The piece suggests similar approaches could strengthen Iceland’s agriculture and reduce the air miles of its imports.