Terawulf, a bitcoin mining operation, has announced that it has energized the first nuclear-powered bitcoin mining facility in the United States at the company’s Nautilus facility in Pennsylvania. According to the company, approximately 1 exahash per second (EH/s) or close to 8,000 application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) bitcoin miners are now online, with another 8,000 mining rigs to be delivered shortly.
Nuclear Powered Bitcoin Mining: A Milestone for Carbon Free Bitcoin Mining
Terawulf Announced on Monday that the first nuclear-powered behind-the-meter bitcoin mining facility went live, with nearly 8,000 ASIC mining rigs now operational. The current 8,000 represent 1 EH/s of SHA256 hashing power, but Terawulf expects to deploy another 8,000 miners in the coming weeks to reach 1.9 EH/s in May. According to the company’s press release on the energization of Nautilus, Terawulf will receive a flat electric rate of about $0.02 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the next five years.
The Nautilus facility is considered a milestone as it is the first bitcoin mining facility of its kind to receive 24/7 carbon-free power from the 2.5GW Susquehanna nuclear plant. in Pennsylvania. “With the recent energization of the Nautilus facility earlier this month, approximately 16,000 Terawulf-owned miners, representing 1.9 EH/s of self-mining capacity, are on site and coming online daily.” said Paul Prager, president and chief executive officer. of Terawulf, in a statement. “The Nautilus nuclear power mining facility benefits from what is arguably the lowest cost power in the industry, just $0.02/kWh for a five-year period.”
While 2022 was difficult for bitcoin mining operations, 2023 has been easier for bitcoin miners due to a significant increase in the price of Bitcoin (BTC) since the end of last year. In addition, several companies are expanding their mining operations, with some being located in Pennsylvania. Seven days ago, Mawson Infrastructure Group launched a Pennsylvania-based mining operation after leaving Australia. In addition to the 50 MW Nautilus facility, Terawulf announced that it is expanding operations at its Lake Mariner facility in New York. This move will increase Lake Mariner’s operation from 60 MW to 110 MW.
What impact do you think the increasing adoption of nuclear power in bitcoin mining will have on the cryptocurrency industry and the environment? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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