Blockstream and Block's All-Solar Bitcoin Mining Facility Breaks Ground in Texas

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2022-04-09 06:19

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The facility, which will utilize Tesla's technology and generate 3.8 megawatts of electricity, is due to be completed by the end of 2022.

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The facility, which will utilize Tesla's technology and generate 3.8 megawatts of electricity, is due to be completed by the end of 2022.

This article comes fromDecrypt, original author: Stacy Elliott
Odaily Translator | Nian Yin Si Tang

This article comes from

, original author: Stacy Elliott

Odaily Translator | Nian Yin Si Tang

Blockstream has begun building an all-solar bitcoin mining facility in Texas, USA, with Block, Inc. and Tesla.

The partnership was announced last year when Block, formerly known as Square, committed $5 million to the project. The $12 million pilot project will be completed by the end of 2022, Blockstream co-founder and CEO Adam Back announced Friday morning at the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami. The two companies have each committed $6 million to fund the pilot project. The solar mining operation will use Tesla photovoltaic and Megapack battery equipment, using 100% renewable energy. 3.8 MW Tesla solar panels and 12 MWh batteries can generate 30 PH/s of electricity for mining.

At press time, the facility can produce approximately 4.11 bitcoins per month at current bitcoin prices ($43,676.41), according to Cryptocompare.

From this perspective alone, the Blockstream facility would be very small compared to the 300-megawatt facility being built by Bitcoin mining company Riot Blockchain at Whinstone US in Rockdale, Texas (Note: Whinstone US former Alcoa aluminum plant). When the Riot project is complete, the 100-acre site will generate 750 megawatts of electricity.

But Blockstream and its partners don't necessarily intend to build the largest bitcoin mining facility in North America. They just wanted to prove that it is possible to mine Bitcoin entirely on renewable energy.

“This is a step toward proving our theory that bitcoin mining can fund zero-emissions electricity infrastructure and build economic growth for the future,” Adam Back told CNBC.

To that end, Blockstream plans to maintain a public dashboard so people can see its electricity output and bitcoin production. Later releases will also report on the uptime of Tesla equipment, energy storage and solar power.

Back said the project will demonstrate how bitcoin can help fund the expansion of solar-powered infrastructure, especially in renewable energy-rich regions like Texas."We think we're actually going to keep the information real and open in a more transparent way, often for commercial competitive reasons, so that we can have a more informed discussion," he said. If we put out the raw numbers, the raw financial information, it speaks for itself."It is worth mentioning that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has always said that he would like to see more Bitcoin mining rely on renewable energy.