In Texas, a bitcoin farm that runs on solar energy


Two technology companies, Block (ex-Square) and Blockstream, are preparing the launch in June of a center for the creation of bitcoins entirely powered by solar energy. A new effort to make cryptocurrencies less polluting.

The Block dematerialized payment group and the specialist in blockchain Blockstream have each invested $6 million in a pilot project that is expected to initially produce around 0.1 bitcoin per day, Blockstream chief executive Adam Back told AFP on Friday. The center will be created in West Texas and equipped with solar panels and Tesla batteries. “A lot of people talk about the theory and we wanted to put it into practice to have an observable basis”admits the leader.

More than the creation of bitcoins, “the goal is to prove that mining can help finance infrastructure [d’énergie renouvelables]”. The logic, according to Adam Back, would be for the center to be able to use only the excess capacity of installations generating renewable energy, most of the electricity being devoted to the ordinary consumption of individuals and businesses.

The creation activity would therefore smooth the consumption linked to a renewable energy source, avoiding peaks and troughs. The site’s consumption data would be accessible to the general public.

Creating a bitcoin requires a series of complex computer calculations that require an ever-increasing amount of electricity. Adam Back indicates that the two project partners are already thinking of increasing the size – up to 100 times – on the same site if the test proves conclusive.

This is not the first cryptocurrency project to rely entirely on renewable energy. In El Salvador, a country where bitcoin is now an official currency, mining uses a geothermal power plant, for example.

Criticized for its huge consumption of electricity, the cryptocurrency sector has seen the birth of several initiatives in recent years to achieve a more ecologically virtuous model. In 2021, dozens of companies united under the umbrella of the Crypto Climate Accord pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.



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