Mawson Unveils New Bitcoin Mining Venture in Texas
Mawson, a digital infrastructure provider, has collaborated with one of the largest landowners in Texas and a bitcoin miner to develop a new mining facility in Texas.
Plans for a New Bitcoin Mining Project
Digital infrastructure provider Mawson Infrastructure Group Inc. (MIGI) announced on Monday that it would build a new 120 Megawatt (MW) Bitcoin mining facility in Texas, USA. The construction of the site is anticipated to begin sometime during this quarter.
According to Mawson, the facility may accommodate up to 4 exahash per second (EH/s) of bitcoin (BTC) mining capability.
Mawson is seeking to get the power purchase agreements that are necessary to start the facility, and it will use both carbon credits and renewable energy credits in addition to participating in curtailment programs in order to ensure that the grid load is managed effectively.
The miner is collaborating with JAI Energy, a bitcoin miner that makes use of wasted natural gas, and Texas Pacific Land (TPL), one of the largest landowners in the state. Both of these entities will benefit from the revenue streams generated by the mine. Additionally, they will have the option to acquire a stake in Mawson’s Texas subsidiary, Luna Squares Texas LLC.
“This project marks the beginning of TPL’s journey into bitcoin, and we are fortunate to collaborate with Mawson and JAI as two highly regarded companies in the bitcoin mining industry,” said Tyler Glover, CEO of TPL. “We believe TPL’s extensive surface footprint in West Texas can serve as a premier destination for the bitcoin mining industry, providing site locations proximate to existing grid infrastructure and excellent solar and wind resources for future renewable power procurement.”
Texas to See Rising Energy Demand for Mining
Texas requires new large-scale miners to request authorization before connecting to the grid, as the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) anticipates an increase in demand due to the influx of new miners.
In addition, one of the largest publicly traded bitcoin miners, Marathon Digital (MARA), has stated that it may want to diversify out of Texas because of the increasing demand on the state’s power system from the surge of new bitcoin miners.
Bitcoin Miners Agree to Reduce Power Usage
It was announced on Saturday by the Texas Blockchain Council, the state’s trade association for the Bitcoin mining industry, that miners had responded to ERCOT’s conservation notice.
The Texas Blockchain Council stated that Bitcoin miners in the state have decided to shut down some crypto mining operations as well as to limit mining productions during the afternoon hours when power is at its highest demand. Mining rigs will be turned on at night time when demand for electricity is lower, according to the council.
Texas Blockchain Council President Lee Bratcher said: “In addition to bringing jobs and tax revenue to rural areas of Texas, many of which are in need of economic revitalization, the bitcoin mining industry also provides greater grid resilience by acting as a controllable load. Bitcoin miners can turn off within just a few seconds, which makes them a perfect resource for the grid regarding frequency balancing and demand response.”
