Tesla is going to build a solar and Megapack farm for energy storage that is going to power a new Bitcoin mining facility in partnership with both Blockstream and Jack Dorsey’s Blocks (formerly Square).
Early in 2021, Tesla invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin. Shortly after, the automaker started accepting the cryptocurrency as payment on new vehicles.
However, a few days later, Tesla took a step back with crypto by removing the Bitcoin payment option. The company noted concerns over the energy needs of the Bitcoin network:
Tesla has suspended vehicle purchases using Bitcoin. We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel.
This is a concern that many Tesla community members shared when Tesla first announced its Bitcoin investment, and many were angered by the fact that the company didn’t think about it in the first place.
At the time, Tesla noted that they were not selling their stake in Bitcoin, and that they planned to resume taking Bitcoin payments once the network shows a higher mix of renewable energy. Last summer, CEO Elon Musk said that he believes Tesla will resume taking Bitcoin payment as he sees improvements in the energy mix of Bitcoin mining. That has yet to happen, but Tesla is now directly involved in helping power Bitcoin mining with clean energy.
Blockstream and Blocks, formerly Square, have partnered on a green Bitcoind mining facility in Texas and now they have partnered with Tesla to provide a 3.8 MW solar farm and 12 MWh Megapack system to power the facility:
We’re excited to share the fully solar-powered, open-source Bitcoin mining facility Blockstream and Blocks, Inc. are collaborating on is set to be outfitted with a 3.8 Megawatt (MW) Tesla Solar PV array and 12 Megawatt-hour (MWh) Megapack. Construction has begun, and we’re eager to demonstrate the innovation we’ve packed into this unique facility.
The system is going to power 30 Petahashes per second with 100% solar power:
The combination of Tesla photovoltaics and Megapack battery equipment will drive the 30 Petahashes per second of mining hardware at the facility with 100% solar energy. Blockstream is providing the mining infrastructure and expertise to build and oversee the project, with the Bitcoin mining facility aiming to be completed later this year.
The companies announced that the project is already in construction. Once completed, they plan to regularly release reports on performance in order to show the economics of powering crypto mining with renewable energy.
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Author: Fred Lambert
Source: Electrek
