Square and Blockstream to build a solar Bitcoin mining facility
Solar mining plant will aim to temper concerns of power consumption from Bitcoin mining
Bitcoin mining company Blockstream has partnered with Square to build a solar-powered Bitcoin mining facility.
Square will provide $5 million in funding for the project, which will be a proof-of-concept for larger renewable mining operations. Blockstream will provide infrastructure and expertise.
Blockstream, which also develops Bitcoin wallets and financial products, already runs a mining operation on what it says is 80% renewable energy. It began mining using its own purpose-built data centers in 2017 and now has a hydroelectric facility in Quebec, Canada and another facility in Adel, Georgia. In 2019, it launched an enterprise colocation service for Bitcoin miners.
The partnership with Square will go beyond Blockstream's existing projects to provide a reference model for renewable mining facility designs, Blockstream said in an announcement on Saturday. It vowed to make the project open and transparent by publishing regular economics reports. It will also offer a dashboard that will display real-time information on the project's power output and Bitcoin mining.
Bitcoin's proof of work-based consensus mechanism consumes vast amounts of power that increase as it becomes more popular. This has drawn criticism for its effect on the environment.
IT Pro 20/20: What the EU's new AI rules mean for business
The 17th issue of IT Pro 20/20 considers the effect of new regulations on the IT industry
New York lawmakers recently proposed a law banning cryptocurrency mining operations that affected its greenhouse gas emissions targets. The seminal cryptocurrency, first launched in 2009, has suffered other setbacks of late, including signals of a major government crackdown on mining in China, which dominates the Bitcoin mining space.
In March, Blockstream also partnered with Aker, a specialist Bitcoin investment company created by Norwegian holding company Seegee, which operates in energy and construction. The two companies will work together in the Bitcoin mining space, they said.
Get the ITPro. daily newsletter
Receive our latest news, industry updates, featured resources and more. Sign up today to receive our FREE report on AI cyber crime & security - newly updated for 2024.
Blockstream has a stated goal to use "orphaned" renewable resources in areas that would otherwise be problematic to transmit power from. The company has developed a satellite-based network for propagating Bitcoin blockchain information to remote areas.
Danny Bradbury has been a print journalist specialising in technology since 1989 and a freelance writer since 1994. He has written for national publications on both sides of the Atlantic and has won awards for his investigative cybersecurity journalism work and his arts and culture writing.
Danny writes about many different technology issues for audiences ranging from consumers through to software developers and CIOs. He also ghostwrites articles for many C-suite business executives in the technology sector and has worked as a presenter for multiple webinars and podcasts.