With global warming bringing extreme temperatures, heavier rains and more powerful hurricanes, the blockchain industry also looks for solutions on how to reduce CO2 emissions.
Since cryptocurrency mining requires significant electrical resources, some blockchain companies turn to use greener energy.
HIVE Blockchain Technologies, a cryptocurrency mining firm, has announced yesterday about the acquisition of dedicated cryptocurrency mining operation with access to 30 megawatts (MW) of a low-cost green power.
The purchase, which cost over C$4 million Canadian dollars (approximately $2.8 million USD) will be located at a leased facility in Quebec. Reportedly, it will be used to support miners on the Bitcoin (BTC) network.
As stated in an official announcement, the acquisition doubles HIVE’s total available power capacity globally to approximately 50 MW. This means HIVE becomes one of the largest cryptocurrency miners, listed publicly.
According to Frank Holmes, Interim Executive Chairman of HIVE, the new purchase allows the company to mine Bitcoins at the lowest-cost electricity as the facility is powered entirely by renewable energy:
The acquisition provides us with an advanced, operating Bitcoin mining facility ready to transition to next-generation mining hardware with access to some of the lowest-cost electricity on the planet. The cost of US$95,000 per MW is less than half the industry standard build cost per MW. [...] In addition, it is in line with the Company’s green energy strategy as the facility is powered entirely by renewable hydroelectricity, thereby maintaining our 100% green energy powered operations globally.
The company is already running GPU-based facilities in Iceland and Sweden, that are mining on the Ethereum network.
The shift to a greener mining
Crypto mining is one of the most energy-intensive industries. Furthermore, the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index states, that the entire Bitcoin network consumed more energy than a number of countries just a few years ago.
Currently, more and more initiatives around the world arouse to make crypto mining greener. While some counties of the United States adopt regulations, that require crypto miners to use greener energy, tech giants like Microsoft are turning to more innovative sources of renewable energy. As company announced few days ago, it had filed a patent application for a virtual currency mining system powered by the human body’s activity.
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