Electric vehicle maker Tesla, payments company Block and blockchain application publisher Blockstream are partnering to build a solar-only Bitcoin (BTC) mining farm in Texas.
Green Bitcoin (BTC) mining in Texas
The information was validated by CNBC, on the sidelines of the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami. The American company Blockstream and Jack Dorsey’s company Block, formerly known as Square, have announced a Bitcoin (BTC) mining farm project in Texas.
An important feature is that it will be powered solely by solar energy and batteries. Its installation will be handled by the American company Tesla, which is expected to provide 3.8 megawatts of photovoltaic panels and 12 megawatt-hours of batteries.
We’re excited to share our collaborative effort with @Blocks to build a fully solar-powered BitcoinMining facility has begun.@Tesla photovoltaics & Megapack will power the 30 PH/s facility, aiming to show the world’s 100% zero-emission Bitcoin mining at scale is viable. ☀️ pic.twitter.com/C1YVyn5ktS
– Blockstream (@Blockstream) April 8, 2022
Interviewed by CNBC at the Miami event, Blockstream co-founder and CEO Adam Back, a renowned cryptographer and member of cypherpunk, gave more information about the project:
People like to debate the different factors involved in mining bitcoins. We thought we should prove it. Let’s have an open dashboard for people to play the game, and maybe that will encourage other players to participate. “
All performance information from the mining facility will be publicly available in real time: energy production, total number of bitcoins mined, and even solar power and storage statistics. Adam Black also explained that it would be designed to be a proof of concept (PoC) for mining Bitcoin with 100% renewable energy:
“This is a step towards proving our thesis that Bitcoin mining can fund zero-emission electricity infrastructure and build economic growth for the future. “
At this time, we don’t know the size and energy performance of the facility, or how much mining capacity it will have.
Musk’s mission to make Bitcoin greener
It’s no surprise now that Elon Musk is a strong supporter of the environment and renewable energy. Last May, he strongly criticised the environmental impact of Proof-Of-Work (PoW) mining, announcing at the same time that Tesla would no longer accept payments in BTC.
Since then, Tesla’s CEO has been working to support Bitcoin miners in their ecological transition. Last year, he organised a meeting with North American miners to convince them to share their current and future strategy of using renewable energy in their business, calling on their colleagues around the world to do the same.
Spoke with North American Bitcoin miners. They committed to publish current and planned renewable usage and ask WW miners to do so. Potentially promising.
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 24, 2021
Subsequently, this meeting led to the creation of the Bitcoin Mining Council, “to promote transparency in energy consumption and accelerate sustainability initiatives around the world”.
These thoughts had also led Marathon Digital to commit to achieving carbon neutrality for all of its mining centres. The Nasdaq-listed company announced the creation of a huge mining park in Texas, powered entirely by renewable energy.
It seems that the future of renewable energy is currently being played out in Texas. And Bitcoin mining has a lot to do with it. By moving to this area, miners have created a financial incentive around this economically unattractive region. Moreover, Elon Musk recently inaugurated his Gigafactory, a Tesla factory of more than 900,000 square meters, there.
