Crypto firms Block and Blockstream have announced plans to build a solar-only Bitcoin farm in Texas. In doing so, they want to become a case study of other farms with a better ecological footprint. The required storage and solar panels are manufactured by Tesla.
• Block and Blockstream announces the creation of a carbon-neutral BTC farm
• The farm will be powered by self-generated solar energy, and if successful, wind energy should also be integrated
• Block and Blockstream buy technology from Tesla: Solar Pandels and Megapack
BTC consumes more electricity than Ukraine or Norway
Bitcoin (BTC) consumes about 140 terawatt-hours (Twh) of electricity annually. The cryptocurrency has been criticized by environmentalists for this – for comparison: Ukraine and Norway consume only about 125 TWh per year, according to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index as of mid-April. In early April, financing firm Blockstream and Jack Dorsey (formerly: Square) announced in a press release that they would build a new solar mining farm. Blockstream already operates several mining farms in North America, which they say are mostly powered by non-fossil energies. A solar farm means the next step towards being more environmentally friendly.
Live dashboard provides high transparency for new mining farm
“People love to discuss the different aspects of bitcoin mining. We thought let’s prove it.” With these words, CNBC quotes Blockstream CEO and co-founder Adam Buck.
According to the press release, there will be a live dashboard where all key numbers updated daily for the mining farm can be publicly displayed: including electricity production, number of BTC mined and later also solar system data and electricity storage. The goal is to build the entire farm as transparently as possible so that it can serve as a case study for other solar-powered mining farms.
Construction should be completed by the end of the year
Block and Blockstream want to generate solar power themselves — with the help of Tesla’s solar panels (3.8 megawatts of power) and Tesla’s mega vaults (12 megawatts of capacity). This should be the only source of energy for the farm at the moment. Construction has already begun and is expected to be completed before the end of the year. According to CNBC, if the project is successful, it is later possible to integrate self-generated wind energy into the farm. It is clear that the farm will be built in Texas because the quality of the solar radiation and the speed of the wind create ideal conditions for generating renewable energies there.
Tesla has yet to comment on its new BTC farm
“We are excited to begin building this facility with Tesla Solar and Megapack. This is a step in proving our hypothesis that bitcoin mining can fund zero-emission energy infrastructure and spur future economic growth,” he said again in the press release. As of mid-April, Tesla has not published a statement regarding new customers.
Olga Rugler / editor finanzen.at
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