Nick Champion, South Australia's State Minister for Trade and Investment, commented: “This is important for decarbonizing blockchain, which is a very energy-intensive industry. I think it’s the beginning of a new economy out here at Whyalla.”
A solar-powered Bitcoin (BTC) mining plant has started operations in the “Steel City” of Whyalla, South Australia, becoming the region's first of its kind.
According to a tweet from the City of Whyalla,
“South Australia’s first solar digital mining center – which uses renewable power to provide computing power to the blockchain network – is now up and running in Whyalla.”
The 5-megawatt facility, operated by Lumos Digital Mining, will mint Bitcoin, a process that is frequently criticized for its high energy consumption.
Notably, the solar-powered cryptocurrency mining project is viewed by local authorities as evidence that Bitcoin production can be more environmentally friendly.
Nick Champion, the State Minister for Trade and Investment for South Australia, commented on the project:
“This is important for decarbonizing blockchain, which is a very energy-intensive industry. I think it’s the beginning of a new economy out here at Whyalla.”
Nick also anticipates other data centers mining cryptocurrencies in the future using renewable energy. He predicts that there will be a demand for both carbon-neutral and traditional blockchain, which will lead to the emergence of more and more facilities of this type.
Furthermore, a representative from Lumos Digital Mining, Angelo Kondylas, stated the new crypto farm could mint around 100 BTC per year depending on the available power.
He added the company could also sell some of its solar power to other consumers or increase cryptocurrency output to utilize excess energy from various sources when electricity generation exceeds demand.
However, Kondylas mentioned that if the company needs to ramp up production, it may have to draw power from the main grid. The company, based in the industrial city of Whyalla, also intends to assist other entities interested in using solar energy to mine Bitcoin.
