‘Clean’ Bitcoin (BTC) mining is coming via this Ohio nuclear plant
Bitcoin mining gets a green energy source through a new partnership that will use Ohio as base.
With Chinaโs current negative stance towards Bitcoin mining plus Elon Muskโs Tesla insistence that they would only accept the digital asset as a payment method only if the mining process of the coin becomes more environmentally friendly, many crypto miners have been left to rue their losses.
Some, however, have found this as an opportunity to offer alternatives in crypto-friendly jurisdictions.
One of the firms that have seen this as an opportunity is the leading power provider Energy Harbor Corp who has signed an agreement with the top hosting provider for blockchain mining companies, Standard Power.
The agreement would allow the firm to provide nuclear power energy and other clean energy sources to mining centers of the flagship asset.
Battling the Bitcoin energy FUD
Per the announcement, Energy Harborโs Bitcoin mining center in Coshocton, Ohio would soon have access to sustainable energy sometime later this year. Though the amount of energy that will be used for the operations remains unclear, the announcement, however, allayed fears that it would rely exclusively on renewable energy.
According to a top executive at Standard Power, Maxim Serezhin, Ohio was selected because of its cheap cost of electricity. “We selected Ohio because of its low electricity costs with the availability of carbon-free sources of energy. By partnering with Energy Harbor, we have proactively structured our hosting capabilities to ensure that 100% of the power associated with this facility is carbon-free,” the executive said.
The road to greener BTC
The need for cleaner energy sources for Bitcoin mining has been on for some time now. The call became quite louder especially as the Chinese government began implementing its policies against the industry, apart from that, officials in the United States like Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have also voiced their concerns about the industry.
โItโs an extremely inefficient way to conduct transactions, and the amount of energy consumed in those transactions is staggering.โ
However, the space has taken some giant strides to combat this menace. A Bitcoin mining council was formed by North American miners in their attempt to change the perspective of players in the market and they have released their first report in that regard.