Australia Will Become Home to a 20 MW Bitcoin Mining Operation Powered by Solar Energy

Cryptocurrency mining is an industry which attracts a lot of attention all over the world. Combining such efforts with renewable energy will often result in a profitable business. If things go according to plan, Hadouken Pty Ltd will set up a 20 MW solar farm to mine cryptocurrencies in Australia. It is a positive development for the cryptocurrency industry, as it shows that major firms are continuing to pay attention to this new form of money.

Solar Power and Cryptocurrency Mining

Setting up a large-scale Bitcoin mining operation is not all that easy. One has to keep the massive initial investment in mind, as well as factors such as electricity cost, location, and cooling. Finding the right balance between all of these factors can only be done in a handful of places around the world. Surprisingly, Australia is one of those places, at least according to Hadouken Pty Ltd.

The firm, which is owned by Ben Tan, has submitted an application to set up a 20 megawatt Bitcoin mining operation in Collie, Australia. To power this energy-intensive business, the firm will rely solely on solar energy. Powering a data center and cryptocurrency mining operation requires a lot of electricity, but given Australia’s climate, it seems appropriate to bank on solar energy. It will be the first major operation of its kind in Collie, a city best known for its coal mining activities.

Already, planning approval has been obtained by the firm to begin setting up shop in Collie. It is possible the location will also begin storing excess solar energy through a battery system in the future, although no further specifics were provided regarding that development. A lot of people are wondering why the company decided to set up such an operation in Collie, of all places. There appears to be a good reason for this decision, as Collie is an “excellent spot for a solar farm,” according to Tan. This is mainly due to its great solar resources, as well as the region’s history with coal mining. By turning such a prominent coal mining area into a place for efforts focusing on renewable energy, an interesting trend emerges.

Although it is not the first solar farm to be built in the state, it is the first to focus on cryptocurrency mining. Hadouken Pty Ltd will focus on mining Bitcoin as well as “other currencies”, although it remains unclear which currencies they will be. Local residents were not too amused by the prospect of this solar farm, but their opinions were not strong enough to prevent the planning approval from being granted.

With more and more companies combining renewable energy with cryptocurrency mining, a lot of positive attention is being generated for Bitcoin and alternative currencies. A fair few reports have surfaced in the past documenting how wasteful Bitcoin mining is and why its electricity consumption will become a problem. If the required electricity is generated through renewable sources, most of those concerns will become non-issues sooner rather than later.