French lawmakers have doubled their Bitcoin mining plans by highlighting that the country can generate annual revenues of up to $150 million from the industry.
In the July 11 bill, introduced to the French National Assembly, lawmakers outlined a five-year pilot program, allowing electricity producers to redirect excess electricity, often wasted during low grid demand, for Bitcoin mining operations.
According to lawmakers, data from the Association for the Development of Digital Assets (ADAN) project, which can only devote one of the excess energy, could generate between $100 million and $150 million each year.
This revenue will offset the fixed costs of maintaining the French nuclear fleet and help monetize energy that would otherwise be lost and sold.
The bill comes a month after French lawmakers first urged the government to investigate whether Bitcoin mining could absorb excess electricity generated from the country’s nuclear power plants.
Lawmakers argued that France’s energy network is facing pressure from intermittent renewable energy growth, such as the wind and the sun.
They emphasized:
“A significant portion of (renewable energy sources) in the electric mix leads to repeated imbalances in the grid, including episodes of overproduction that force electricity producers to sell electricity producers at loss due to shortages in storage facilities.
Benefits of Bitcoin Mining
To solve this challenge, French lawmakers are pushing for the Bitcoin Mining Centre to be held in collaboration with nuclear production facilities.
These centers are only active in the presence of excess energy, providing a real-time, flexible way to stabilize grids without affecting consumer supply.
According to them:
“The existing infrastructure that is currently fully utilized or closed may correspond to this new infrastructure. Overseas, several previous plants or decommissioned power plants have been converted to mining farms that are already operating on carbon-free electricity.”
Meanwhile, the law highlighted the secondary benefits of Bitcoin mining activities, including heat recovery. Lawmakers point out that mining rigs can generate significant heat, which can be redirected to district heating systems, greenhouses or industrial work.
They also highlighted examples of countries like Finland where Bitcoin’s mining heat is used to support agriculture and sustainable infrastructure.
If approved, the pilot will start immediately and last for about five years, with oversight from the French Council of State. Six months later, the full assessment report assesses the feasibility of a broader recruitment.
Meanwhile, the effort places France in a group of growing countries such as Pakistan, Belarus and Texas in the US, exploring Bitcoin mining as a strategic response to oversupply of electricity.