He decided Proof of Work was the lesser of two evils…

He knew that POW would use lots of electricity and that would be an issue.

He decided it would be the price that is needed for a peer to peer network with no middleman though.

He also decided it would likely use much less energy than the traditional financial system…

(Source: https://twitter.com/pete_rizzo_/status/1761040094738141418/photo/1)