Britain pays Scottish wind farms to stop generating and then pays gas plants elsewhere to ramp up in their place. A new report from the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI) argues that Bitcoin mining could offer a better use for that surplus power, according to research findings reported this week.
The proposal rests on a simple idea: if the electricity cannot reach the users who need it, bring a buyer to the electricity instead.
The scale of the wasted wind
In 2024, Britain paid wind farms £393 million to curtail 8.3 TWh of output. Nearly all of that burden falls on Scotland, which accounted for 98% of the curtailed output, according to the research findings.
The cause is geography combined with transmission capacity. Scottish wind capacity has grown faster than the power lines needed to carry electricity south to England, where demand is highest.
The result is a two-sided bill for grid operators: compensation to Scottish wind farms for staying idle, alongside compensation to gas-fired stations further south for ramping up.
The trend is moving in the wrong direction. The value of wind curtailment in Britain rose 91% year over year, per the research findings.
Why the BPI sees miners fitting the gap
The report casts Bitcoin miners as buyers of last resort. They can soak up power that would otherwise go unused, and they do not need it delivered anywhere.
The key selling point is flexibility. Mining rigs can ramp consumption up or down quickly depending on how much energy is available.
That sets them apart from what the report calls firm loads, such as AI data centers. Those facilities require steady, uninterrupted power, which makes them a poor match for a supply that varies with the weather.
Modeling figures
A separate modeling analysis dated May 2026 put numbers to the concept. It found that:
- A 20 MW mining operation alongside a 100 MW wind farm could use 83% of the farm's curtailed energy.
- The setup could lift overall system revenue by 32%.
- The wind farm's effective capacity factor would rise from 29% to 32%.
The catch: banking and tax rules
The report does not stop at the energy argument. It also flags obstacles that could keep Britain from becoming a serious Bitcoin hub.
Banking restrictions top the list. The report also points to inconsistent investment and tax rules as a drag on competitiveness.
That tension is notable because Britain's legal footing is relatively strong. The research findings note that Bitcoin has legal recognition as property in the UK.
A growing UK conversation
Bitcoin Policy UK has published several papers and podcasts on the topic. Their focus has been on mining as a source of demand-side flexibility for the grid and as a tool to support renewable energy targets.
The mining-for-curtailment argument is not new globally. What makes the Scottish case stand out is how concentrated the waste is, with nearly all of Britain's curtailment accumulating in one region behind one set of transmission bottlenecks.
