As the cryptocurrency sector expands, bitcoin (BTC) mining is becoming more and more mainstream. The construction of the first nuclear-powered data center in the United States, where a bitcoin mining farm will be churning, was recently completed.
Cumulus Data, a manufacturer of zero-carbon data centers, has completed its first 2.5 gigawatt nuclear power plant with its data center.
The 48-megawatt, 300,000-square-foot data center is directly connected to the Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant in northeastern Pennsylvania, and the 1,200-acre campus will host bitcoin mining and cloud computing services — the first facility of its kind in the United States.
Alex Hernandez, the company’s CEO, said the following about the complex:
“Our Cumulus Susquehanna flagship data center campus is in a position to welcome its first tenant and begin commercial operations this year. We look forward to advancing our mission to solve the energy ‘trilemma,’ which we define as data center customers’ rapidly growing consumer demand for carbon-free, low-cost, and reliable electricity.”
Although operations related to the construction of the bitcoin mining farm were briefly suspended in early December of last year, TeraWulf recently announced that it is in the early stages of ramping up mining operations, which it expects to provide 50 megawatts of net mining capacity by the first quarter of 2023.
Environmentally friendly mining
Although many people complain about the huge energy requirements of bitcoin mining, as we recently wrote about, in the Virunga National Park in the Congo, bitcoin is mined using hydroelectric power, which provides the necessary funding to protect the forests and wildlife in Africa’s oldest protected park, which has been affected by years of militia violence, deforestation and suffers from weak government support.
Bitcoin mining with zero carbon dioxide emissions can also be operated with the help of solar panels. For successful operation, an Antiminer S19 that consumes 72 kWh per day requires a 14 kWh solar system, i.e. approximately 35 standard 400 watt solar cells.