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Bitcoin Mining Operation Reveals Plans to Convert Coal Ash Landfill Into Solar Farm

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Bitcoin Mining Operation Reveals Plans to Convert Coal Ash Landfill Into a Solar Farm

Following the announcement from Greenidge Generation Holdings that detailed the company would be promoting a carbon-neutral stance, and the firm’s recent partnership with Foundry, Greenidge revealed on Thursday it is investing profits into a renewable energy investment program. The company is in the midst of expediting the closure of a coal ash landfill in order to construct a new solar farm.

Greenidge Invests in Renewable Energy Investment Program

In 2014, the Lockwood Hills landfill in Dresden, New York was purchased by Lockwood Hills LLC, which is a subsidiary of Greenidge. The site has been “safely maintained” over the last seven years, Greenidge claims, and it ended the use of coal-fired power at the adjacent power facility during that time. The announcement on Thursday says the company plans to safely cap and close down the landfill and Greenidge hopes to install “a solar project across the 143-acre site that will produce up to 5MW of power.”

The bitcoin mining company says that the move is aligned with the firm’s efforts to improve the environment in New York. While it is working on projects like the Lockwood Hills landfill, Greenidge details it is purchasing voluntary carbon offsets from U.S. greenhouse gas reduction projects. Jeff Kirt, CEO of Greenidge, believes bitcoin mining models can advance operations in a way that keeps the environment safe.

“Bitcoin mining at Greenidge is already a model for the industry in that we are advancing this emerging financial platform for people across the world in a manner that fully protects our environment and drives economic growth across Upstate New York,” Kirt said in a statement. The move makes renewable energy a reality by leveraging bitcoin mining profits to fund the creation of a new solar farm at a landfill site, Kirt added.

Greenidge President Says Bitcoin Mining Adds Jobs, Supports Local Community and Can Help the Environment

Greenidge is just one of many crypto mining projects attempting to rejuvenate the environment by transforming business models and removing waste through the process. For instance, Stronghold Digital Mining converts waste coal into alternative energy in order to mine bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. At the end of May, EZ Blockchain partnered with a Texas-based oil provider to monetize wasted natural gas with bitcoin.

Before Greenidge’s acquisition in 2014, the Lockwood Landfill was permitted to hold coal combustion residuals (CCR) and other wastes. Greenidge details that it will ensure “the site will no longer accept waste of any kind,” add a water filtration system, and a permanent engineered membrane to stop erosion.

“For those of us who grew up and still live right here in the Finger Lakes, the Lockwood Hills landfill has been a constant presence, overlooking Seneca Lake and the Village of Dresden, and something we always hoped would eventually not be needed,” Greenidge president Dale Irwin said in a statement.

Irwin added that he was pleased that bitcoin mining facilities can not only create jobs and support local businesses, but crypto mining operations can also “facilitate the development of renewable energy at this old landfill site.”

What do you think about Greenidge converting the Lockwood Hills landfill in New York? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Bit Mining to Deploy Another 2,500 Bitcoin Miners in Kazakhstan

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Bit Mining to Deploy Another 2,500 Bitcoin Miners in Kazakhstan

Bit Mining is going to expand its operations in Central Asia with the purchase of 2,500 crypto mining machines slated for deployment in Kazakhstan. The new devices are expected to increase the Chinese company’s total hashrate capacity by an estimated 165 petahashes per second.

Bit Mining Buys New Cryptocurrency Miners for Data Centers in Kazakhstan

Shenzhen-based Bit Mining Ltd. announced Wednesday it has secured a purchase agreement for the acquisition of 2,500 new bitcoin mining machines. The price tag of the deal is approximately $6.6 million, the crypto mining firm detailed in a press release.

Following the delivery, which is scheduled for next week, the company intends to ship the coin minting rigs to Kazakhstan. Once deployed, the mining devices are expected to increase Bit Mining’s “theoretical maximum total hash rate capacity by approximately 165 petahashes per second (PH/s).”

Bit Mining said it’s constantly monitoring the market for cryptocurrency mining hardware and will consider “cost-efficient” acquisitions “on an opportunistic basis.” It emphasized:

Looking forward, the company is prepared to further expand the scale of its business and increase its theoretical maximum total hash rate capacity, in order to strengthen its position as a leading cryptocurrency mining enterprise.

Chinese Mining Company Continues Migration to Central Asia

The crypto firm further noted that the expansion of its bitcoin mining machine fleet goes on in parallel with the implementation of its overseas development strategy which is largely focused on Central Asia. Bit Mining has already installed 3,819 rigs with a total hashrate capacity of 172 PH/s in data centers in Kazakhstan. Another 4,033 bitcoin miners with a hashrate capacity of 121 PH/s have been shipped to the country and are currently awaiting deployment.

Bit Mining to Deploy Another 2,500 Bitcoin Miners in Kazakhstan

According to the announcement published by Prnewswire, the company has also launched ethereum (ETH) mining operations outside of mainland China that have a hashrate capacity of 86.4 gigahashes per second (GH/s). “An additional hash rate capacity of 4,713.6 GH/s is expected to be deployed by the end of October 2021,” Bit Mining added.

In May, the Chinese company revealed plans to build and operate a 100 MW crypto-mining data center in Kazakhstan, a project that will be implemented in partnership with two local companies. In June, Bit Mining began moving 3,000 bitcoin mining machines to Kazakhstan amid an ongoing government crackdown on crypto mining in the People’s Republic of China.

Do you expect more crypto mining companies from China to follow Bit Mining’s lead and relocate to Central Asia?

Luxor Technologies Announces New Crypto Mining Stock Index

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Luxor Technologies, Bitcoin mining pool and data analytics firm, now features a mining stock index on their Hashrate Index data platform.

Today, Bitcoin mining pool and data analytics firm, Luxor Technologies, announced that they are now featuring a mining stock index on their Hashrate Index data platform. This Crypto Mining Stock Index (ISIN) was described as a basket of over 50 mining or mining-adjacent equities, per a release sent to Bitcoin Magazine.

In the ISIN, each equity is weighted based on stock volatility, company performance and potential for capital appreciation. Luxor stated that they plan on building out metrics, allowing them to measure its volatility as well as its correlation against the bitcoin price. They will also be building out other insights in addition to this.

“Manufacturer,” “Mining” and “Foundry” are the three categories that they have divided the index holdings into. The release states that Manufacturers will include GPU and ASIC producers, while Foundries are chip manufacturers and the Miners are mining companies, facilitating operations for themselves and their clients.

The majority of the index’s holdings are in “pure play” companies that are fully exposed to the market. More diversified companies who have exposure to mining but whose core business does not rely on it make up the rest of the index. The holdings of these diversified companies receive a 50% discount on their rating because of this.

Manufacturers will make up 10% of the index at launch, with the release stating that no single manufacturer will earn more than 4.5% share of the index. Foundries will account for 5% of the index, with the same limit of 4.5% as Manufacturers. Miners will make up the rest of the index at a much higher percentage than Manufacturers and Foundries at 85%, also with a higher cap at 7%.

About 60% of this index contains legacy blue ship stocks — SBI Holdings, GMO Internet INC, AMD, and Nvidia — but also contains the stocks from big players in the Bitcoin mining industry: Galaxy Digital, Marathon, Riot, Northern AG, Hive and Argo. The other 40% of the index is made up of stocks from a collection of more than 40 other Bitcoin mining companies.

The index will be refreshed quarterly with updated statistics. 

Utah Oil Producer Is Using Otherwise Wasted Gas To Mine Bitcoin

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Wesco has stopped flaring excess natural gas and is now using it to mine bitcoin, reducing carbon emissions and increasing profits.

Wesco Operating Co., an oil producer near Moab, Utah, found in Bitcoin a solution to a years-old problem – the wastage of natural gas that can’t be shipped to market, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

The company pumps crude oil out of 18 north of Moab, producing natural gas as a byproduct. However, it had been torching a big part of that gas because it couldn’t ship it to market. But now, Wesco is using it to mine bitcoin.

Wesco representative Steve Degenfelder told The Salt Lake Tribune that rather than eliminating the natural gas by burning it off, the company is now burning it to run electrical generators, which in turn power bitcoin mining rigs.

“You eliminate the flare and burn [the gas] more efficiently. We reduced emissions and we put the gas to work,” Degenfelder said. “It’s a unique opportunity.”

Degenfelder also said that the company has flared almost no gas since February after putting in significant capital investment for the bitcoin mining operations.

Wesco’s move is popular among oil producers seeking to capitalize on stranded energy that would otherwise be wasted. Excess gas is often eliminated due to the lack of financial incentives to capture it. But with bitcoin, these companies have a new option to both reduce carbon emissions and increase profits.

Wesco also received praise from the Utah Board of Oil, Gas, and Mining due to the solution implemented, the report said.

“Thank you for looking for alternatives to flaring. I’m pleased this is working out. Congratulations,” board member Susan Davis told Wesco engineer Thomas Kirkwood at a February board meeting, according to the report. “It looks like a win-win for everyone: you, the environment, the pipeline.”

Bitcoin, as this example shows, is uniquely positioned to go beyond just incentivizing clean energy. Bitcoin mining can also help energy producers increase their profit margins, leverage stranded power, and capture pollutant waste.

Bitmain to Host Miners in 180-Megawatt Data Center in Kazakhstan

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Bitmain to Host Miners in 180MW Data Center in Kazakhstan

Crypto mining hardware manufacturer Bitmain has partnered with Enegix to host Antminer S19 Pro devices in one of the world’s largest data centers. The facility located in Kazakhstan is designed to accommodate more than 50,000 mining rigs.

Bitmain to Work With Mining Facility Operator Enegix

Leading mining equipment producer Bitmain has announced a partnership with Enegix. As part of the agreement, the ASIC giant will host Antminer S19 Pro miners in a 180MW facility operated by Enegix in Kazakhstan, which is one of the largest in the world.

Enegix focuses its business efforts on designing, building, and operating data centers since 2017, a press release published by Bitmain details. The one in question was commissioned in late 2020 and is the company’s third such facility. Its total capacity exceeds 50,000 current-generation mining rigs.

Commenting on the new project, Bitmain Mining Division Vice President Du Shisheng noted that his company is pleased to have a solid strategic partner in the region and stated:

Enegix is a clear leader in design and operation of large-scale mining facilities. Their success over the years has put them on the map for all major bitcoin miners.

“Enegix is pleased to be able to offer Bitmain the remaining capacity of its 180MW facility. This step from the leading manufacturer of ASIC miners is very important for our company, as it shows trust in our operation,” Enegix CEO Yerbolsyn Sarsenov added. He expressed hopes that the cooperation will be beneficial for both companies and continue into the future.

Enegix to Build More Mining Centers in Kazakhstan

Enegix plans to further expand its activities in Kazakhstan in response to surging demand from cryptocurrency miners. The company wants to develop additional mining infrastructure and is working on design projects for new mining facilities in the Central Asian republic. Enegix is also negotiating agreements for the purchase of electricity to power the crypto farms.

Bitmain to Host Miners in 180MW Data Center in Kazakhstan

Amid an ongoing crackdown, Chinese companies involved in cryptocurrency mining have been migrating to friendlier jurisdictions in the region, most notably Kazakhstan. In May, Shenzhen-based Bit Mining announced it’s planning to build a 100 MW mining data center there, in partnership with two local companies.

According to a study by the University of Cambridge, the country has seen a six-fold increase in its share in global bitcoin extraction in less than two years. It now ranks third in the world by crypto mining volume. However, the government in Nur-Sultan decided to introduce a surcharge for electricity used by mining entities. The local crypto industry expressed concerns the move could turn away potential investors.

Do you think Kazakhstan will remain an attractive destination for cryptocurrency miners? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.