Bitcoin miner buys entire wind farm and takes it off the grid. $MARA (-3,48 %)
Mining computers are to be operated with the energy that was previously fed into the public power grid
The US Bitcoin company Mara Holdings Inc. is in the process of buying up a large wind farm in the state of Texas in its entirety. The company now wants to take it off the public grid in order to operate its own mining facility exclusively with the energy generated.
Withdrawn from the public
The wind farm in question is located in Hansford County, right on the border with Oklahoma, and has a capacity of 114 megawatts. According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the purchase of the facility from a joint venture between National Grid Plc, a British international energy company, and the Washington State Investment Board is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025. The price for the acquisition is not known.
According to the company's own information, the wind turbine will be removed from the energy grid in future so that the energy can be used exclusively to operate its own Bitcoin mining facilities. Until now, the wind farm was part of the Southwest Power Pool, a non-profit organization that manages the power grid in the central states and is tasked with ensuring a reliable supply.
Environmental pledge
In an official statement, CEO Fred Thiel commented: "This acquisition is an example of how the energy and data center sectors can work together to create long-term value while advancing sustainability initiatives." By repurposing machines and supplying them with 100% renewable energy at zero-margin costs, renewable resources are used that would otherwise have been curtailed. At the same time, it is reducing the cost of generating its bitcoins through vertical integration and demonstrating its commitment to environmental protection.
Thiel told Bloomberg: "We can take the market to where the electrons are instead of taking the electrons to where the market is." He is not worried about a possible objection from the supervisory authorities. The CEO estimates that the plant, which consists of older generation computers, can be operated in this way around 30 percent of the time. The same amount of energy could supply between 20,000 and 100,000 households with electricity.
Bitcoin miners are known to consume large amounts of energy for cooling, which has led to increased criticism in the past. Since the omnipresence of artificial intelligence and the need for data centers for the "new" technology, the discourse has shifted in this direction. (hlk, 10.12.24)
