Tech
Bitcoin Mining: In Texas, Cryptocurrency Miners Turn to Solar Energy
Two US technology companies, Block and Blockstream, are preparing to launch a fully solar-powered Bitcoin creation center, or mine, in June, in a new effort to make cryptocurrencies cheaper and more environmentally friendly.
Digital payments group Block, previously called Square, and blockchain specialist Blockstream have each invested $6 million in the pilot project which is initially expected to produce around 0.1 bitcoin per day, Blockstream CEO Adam Back told AFP.
Blockstream announced that the center will be located in West Texas and will be equipped with Tesla solar panels and batteries.
“A lot of people have been talking about the theory, and we thought we’d try it in practice, so we have real data that people can look at and cite and cite,” Back said.
More than simply creating bitcoin, “the goal is to demonstrate that ‘mining’ can help finance infrastructure” for renewable energy, he said.
The rationale, according to Back, is that the bitcoin creation center can only use the excess capacity of plants generating renewable energy, with most of the electricity going to normal home and business consumption.
Mining bitcoin requires a series of complex computer calculations, which require an ever-increasing amount of electricity.
Back explained that the two project partners are already thinking of increasing the size of the project up to 100 times on the same site if the test proves conclusive.
It’s not the first cryptocurrency project to rely entirely on renewable energy.
In El Salvador, where bitcoin is now an official currency, mining takes place at a geothermal power plant using energy from surrounding volcanoes.
Criticized for its enormous electricity consumption, the cryptocurrency sector has seen the birth of several initiatives in recent years to create a more ecological model.
Last year, dozens of companies banded together under the umbrella of the Crypto Climate Accord and committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.