Steve Wood at Ukrainian Prayer Week, DC, 2025.
Steve Wood at Ukrainian Prayer Week, DC, 2025.

Data centers and cryptocurrency mining operations have become critical infrastructure with the digital economy surging forward. However, they've come with significant environmental costs. These facilities are energy-intensive, consuming vast electricity to maintain continuous operations and generating enormous waste heat. Steve Wood, a seasoned energy project manager, acknowledges that the convergence of energy consumption and unmanaged waste represents an environmental challenge. At the same time, he believes it signifies an opportunity to generate new value streams and promote cross-industry sustainability.

Wood has extensive experience in energy systems, financial strategy, and industrial operations. He helped grow a manufacturing company that supplied energy-saving technologies to aluminum smelters, steelworks, and glass producers in various countries for over a decade. In this company, he excelled at reducing electricity consumption and improving cost efficiency.

As Wood assumed the role of chief financial officer for a newsprint manufacturer, he confronted energy management from a different angle. He was inspired by how the engineering team creatively reused steam within the drying system, the value of internal waste recovery, and the potential of reusing heat to lower operational costs.

Later, Wood was introduced to the economics of Bitcoin mining and the concept of electricity being converted into digital value while advising a young entrepreneur building a cryptocurrency mining startup. Understanding how energy impacts traditional industry, he realized the inefficiencies of mining operations, especially the untreated waste heat being generated at scale. This discovery shaped his interest in designing systems where such byproducts could support other industries. It also formed the foundation of what he now champions as industrial symbiosis.

Wood recognizes how critical the problem is. Data centers globally are estimated to consume around 1% of the world's electricity. Cryptocurrency mining adds to the issue. Bitcoin alone consumes more electricity annually than many nations. The heat generated in both sectors is usually offset using mechanical cooling systems that draw additional power, compounding environmental impact. "We already know how energetically inefficient this is, but it also presents an opportunity to use that thermal energy to fulfill other industrial, agricultural, or municipal heating needs," says Wood.

Cooling is also a facet of the broader problem. The energy sourcing for data centers and mining operations is usually carbon-intensive. This is especially true in regions relying on fossil fuel grids. It's also worth noting that the infrastructure surrounding these facilities is typically underutilized.

Wood recognized these inefficiencies firsthand while overseeing the restructuring of a decommissioned paper mill. He proposed an integrated development model anchored by a data center. Instead of adhering to conventional designs, the idea was to let the facility serve as a central node in a broader energy ecosystem. The goal was to utilize every output, including heat, to create additional value.

A small-scale pilot in the building's basement demonstrated this potential. The waste heat generated by mining servers was redirected through the existing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system to heat a towering structure. Seasonal propane use was no longer needed thanks to this method, making the facility more self-sufficient and cost-effective. The model proved to be economically viable and operationally stable over multiple seasons.

This success was pivotal to the development of industrial symbiosis. Wood's framework advocates for the byproducts of digital infrastructure to be integrated into adjacent industrial processes. Wood identified where this approach can be applied.

The co-location of data centers and controlled-environment agriculture is a promising direction. Greenhouses, particularly those operating in colder climates, require substantial heating. Waste heat from data centers can fulfill this role without fossil fuel-based systems. There could be year-round cultivation of vegetables, fruits, and protein sources such as fish within aquaponic environments. In Wood's model, heat and water can be recirculated, energy use can be optimized, and food production can become less vulnerable to external climate variability.

Another avenue Wood aims to explore is coupling digital infrastructure with biomass energy generation. Biomass plants produce heat, steam, and biochar, a byproduct used for soil remediation. Wood proposes using the waste steam from a biomass plant to support expanded greenhouse operations. Wood's vision also includes mitigating forest fire risk and reforestation efforts. One can create a full-circle connection between data, energy, agriculture, and ecology by using greenhouse-grown saplings to repopulate forests.

The potential impact of Wood's industrial symbiosis can extend to the community. "Every solution should lead to another question," he states. "What else can we do with the resources we have now? What needs still exist in the community? How do we design systems that serve the industry and the people?"

Steve Wood presents an innovative path for industries struggling with the environmental consequences of digital growth. He looks forward to seeing a more circular, integrated, and sustainable industrial future. To achieve this, he calls for reimagining waste as value and designing systems that cross traditional industrial boundaries.