This is the lump of labor fallacy applied to energy, let's call it the lump of energy fallacy.
Increased demand for energy brings more energy supply into the market. New energy is mostly renewable energy.
Old plants are shut down when they are unprofitable. That can be because they're inherently too expensive to run, because the carbon inputs are being taxed too heavily (I think this is a good one), or because the governing body controlling the physical location of the power plant has declared them illegal (since you can't profitably sell something you're forbidden from selling).
I'm not making the "Bitcoin is good because it drives renewable energy investment" argument, which is too handwavey for my taste. I'm saying your argument is incoherent.
Reducing carbon emissions from power plants is mainly about pricing the externality they generate. Cryptocurrencies, in fact, any application for that generated power, neither harm nor help achieve that outcome. It's irrelevant special pleading, and it's a distraction from this urgent goal.
Increased demand for energy brings more energy supply into the market. New energy is mostly renewable energy.
Old plants are shut down when they are unprofitable. That can be because they're inherently too expensive to run, because the carbon inputs are being taxed too heavily (I think this is a good one), or because the governing body controlling the physical location of the power plant has declared them illegal (since you can't profitably sell something you're forbidden from selling).
I'm not making the "Bitcoin is good because it drives renewable energy investment" argument, which is too handwavey for my taste. I'm saying your argument is incoherent.
Reducing carbon emissions from power plants is mainly about pricing the externality they generate. Cryptocurrencies, in fact, any application for that generated power, neither harm nor help achieve that outcome. It's irrelevant special pleading, and it's a distraction from this urgent goal.