France seeks profit in nuclear power surplus: lawmakers propose to mine Bitcoin

At the last session of the National Assembly, a group of deputies presented a bill for a five-year experiment turning excess megawatts of nuclear and renewable power plants into revenue from digital gold mining. The potential revenue is estimated at $100-150 million annually if 1 GW of excess capacity is utilized, which is comparable to the export earnings of an average utility. The initiative is designed to address a costly anomaly: in March, the grid operator paid neighboring countries up to €12,000 per megawatt-hour to get rid of excess power.

Nuclear generation covers 70% of the country's demand, but the reactors are inertial. When consumption drops, the turbines don't stop, and the kilowatts turn into a loss. Mining is flexible: ASIC containers can be turned on and off in minutes, and consumption grows linearly with power. The bill proposes to purchase energy at a floating tariff, turning computing into a buffer for the energy system and stabilizing wholesale prices.

The developers have taken into account the thermal component. The mines give back up to 97% of the energy consumed as heat; inexpensive heat exchangers make it possible to heat greenhouses or dry wood. In Sweden, a 600 kW container supports a 300 m² greenhouse even at -30 °C, and Norway uses waste heat to dry lumber. French agricultural regions are ready to implement similar schemes.

A previous attempt to enshrine Bitcoin mining in the legal framework failed in June for procedural reasons, but the new version gathered support from some centrists. The Minister of Digital Economy called for the project to be evaluated "without ideology, with a focus on economics." The profile committee has already scheduled hearings with energy, climate scientists and equipment manufacturers.

The international backdrop is spurring action. Bhutan, El Salvador and several U.S. states are using hydro and geothermal for mining, turning excess energy into hard currency. French lawmakers warn that slowness promises lost tax revenue and technology jobs.

The project's economics are directly dependent on the market: at a Bitcoin price of $120,000, daily revenue from 1 GW of hash could exceed $410,000. Even after capital expenditures, the margins outpace the returns on electricity exports. An additional effect is the reduction of reactor shutdown cycles, which means extending their life.

Eco-activists continue to argue, but nuclear generation emits almost no CO₂, and the use of "extra" power does not increase total output. In addition, mining relieves the load on hydro accumulators, the modernization of which is estimated at billions of euros.

The energy sector emphasizes that the pilot will not require subsidies - private consortiums will take over the investment, and the state will limit itself to the regulatory umbrella and audit. If parliament approves the experiment, the first server units could appear at nuclear power plant sites by March 2026, and the extra megawatts would be put to an unexpected but profitable use.