The nuclear power plant in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania now powers a bitcoin mining company, making it one of the first in the world.
TeraWulf Inc, owner and operator of several mining facilities, has announced that it is now using 50 MW of nuclear power on its Nautilus Cryptomine mining operation.
“The Nautilus facility represents the first behind-the-meter Bitcoin mining facility of its kind, supplying reliable, carbon-free, 24/7 power directly from the 2.5 GW Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant in Pennsylvania”said the miner.
They have fully deployed 50 MW and have the option to add another 50 MW of mining capacity.
“Deploying 50 MW of mining capacity at the Nautilus facility is a major milestone for the company,” said Paul Prager, president and CEO of TeraWulf.
“Not only does it represent the first nuclear-powered Bitcoin mining facility in the US, TeraWulf now has the opportunity to reap the economic benefit of 50MW of carbon-free mining at what may be the lowest cost of contracted power in the world. industry – just $0.02/kWh over five years.”
2 cents per kWh is less than half of what miners in China paid, making it one of the most competitive prices in the world.
Unless that energy is extracted from the flared gas. Highlighting this new development, the World Economic Forum (WEF) showed in a video how bitcoin mining could be used to reduce methane emissions by using excess gas for mining instead of burning it.
Because bitcoin mining is highly mobile and can take place anywhere there is an internet connection, via Wi-Fi or satellite, miners can go to the energy source rather than the energy source going to where it will be used.
This can reduce costs due to lower infrastructure requirements as the energy does not require transportation and wasted energy can be fully utilized, helping the environment by reducing the production of methane gas, a by-product of flared gas.
TeraWulf expects to have a total operational capacity of 50,000 miners this quarter, equivalent to 5.5 EH/s.
The bitcoin network is currently running at a whopping 340 exahashes per second, making TeraWulf’s share about 1.5%.
91% of it is carbon-free energy, the miner says, allowing it to protect the bitcoin network without contributing to climate change.
Source: Live Coins
Barry Siefert is an accomplished journalist and author at The Nation View. He is known for his expertise in the field of cryptocurrency, and has written extensively on the topic. With a background in finance and economics, Barry has a deep understanding of the underlying technology and market forces that drive the crypto industry.
