Terawulf, a bitcoin mining operation, announced that it has powered 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 nearly 8,000 application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) bitcoin miners are now online, and another 8,000 mining rigs will be delivered shortly. .
Nuclear Powered Bitcoin Mining – A Milestone for Carbonless Bitcoin Mining
Terawulf announcement Monday that the world’s first nuclear-powered behind-the-meter bitcoin mining facility was powered up, with nearly 8,000 ASIC mining rigs now operational. The current 8,000 represents 1 EH/s of SHA256 hashing power, but Terawulf plans to deploy another 8,000 miners in the coming weeks to reach 1.9 EH/s by May. According to the company’s press release on the Nautilus power-up, Terawulf will receive a fixed electricity rate of approximately $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 2.5 GW nuclear power plant of Susquehanna in Pennsylvania. “With the recent power-up of the Nautilus facility earlier this month, approximately 16,000 of Terawulf-owned miners, representing 1.9 PE/s of self-mining capacity, are on-site and brought online daily. “said Paul Prager, President and CEO. of Terawulf, in a statement. “The Nautilus nuclear-powered mining facility benefits from what is arguably the cheapest energy in the industry, at just $0.02/kWh for five years.”
While 2022 has been tough 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. Additionally, several companies are expanding their mining operations, with some moving to 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 decision will increase the operation of Lake Mariner from 60 MW to 110 MW.
What impact do you think the growing 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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