The definition of crypto seems be loose and changing
Weird internet money -> protocol -> digital gold
Can be property, commodity, security, currency
How it relates to energy will also changes drastically in the short term
The current narrative is that crypto mining is a dangerously large consumer of energy
Author believes this will change to crypto mining is driving the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables
Iceland has an abundance of renewable energy in the form of geothermal, so they built smelting mills for aluminum to convert their energy into goods to sell
In a sense, aluminum is a battery for Iceland's energy
Since battery is just a way of shifting both the location and the time-of-use of energy
Crypto converts energy into value in the form of an asset (BTC, ETC)
Can be moved, transferred and transformed
But is there value in this good?
Bitcoin battery has the following two properties that can help to build renewable energy systems
Always on and permissionless
Naturally seeking low-cost electricity
Some ways that it can help renewable builds
Interconnection queues - bringing renewable energy to use faster
Project finance - renewable developers need capital to finance build-outs
Geographic issues - renewable energy sources are not where the customer is
Timing and grid balance - Bitcoin battery is ready to buy whenever the price is right
Underperformance - Bitcoin can be buy when no one else will
Cleaning the grid
So to summarize, bitcoin battery buys renewable when it is not efficient to be directly used as energy and stores it until it can be transferred back as energy when the right customer needs it. Not sure if this overall is efficient.