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Madison River Equity LLC, a bitcoin miner, seeks approval to build a 6,5-kilometer solar power plant that will receive an investment of R$ 4 billion in the United States
Madison River Equity LLC, an American Bitcoin mining company, decided to apply a new investment and filed a request for the construction of a solar power plant to enable an operation to mine bitcoin in the US state of Montana. The miner has been the target of criticism, mainly because it is a cryptocurrency miner.
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Investment in renewable energy by bitcoin miner
The idea is that the solar power plant, which will be named Basin Greek Solar Project, is capable of producing around 300 megawatts per year through renewable energy, making it one of the largest solar power plants in the country.
Of this total, 75 MW would be used for bitcoin operation and the rest of the energy will be distributed to other consumers in the region. The solar energy plant intends to occupy 6,5 square kilometers, that is, almost a thousand soccer fields. The total investment of the bitcoin company will be 800 million dollars (4 billion reais in direct conversion).
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Bitcoin miner plans
Bitcoin miner Madison is a subsidiary of FX Solutions, a company that also controls the mining company Atlas Power. Currently, Atlas is working to acquire GPU processors in place of its old ASIC machines to optimize its operation, which consumes around 25 MW per year.
In the new investment, the idea is also to build eight buildings to house the new equipment and diversify the operation – the GPUs can also use artificial intelligence.
According to Matt Vincent, spokesman for the project, in the future if the bitcoin miner prospers and expansion licenses are issued, the idea is to acquire the solar plant and use all its electricity production. He claims that the demand for energy, which comes from renewable sources, is growing and the company promises to work with anyone who has an interest in surplus energy.
Bitcoin mining company's investment to build solar power plant has caused nuisance
Despite promoting sustainability and supporting the adaptation needs of companies that mine bitcoin to environmental issues, the investment is generating discomfort among residents of the Butte region, where the solar power plant will be built.
To give you an idea, the city currently has around 14.000 homes and the energy surplus alone, not counting the 75 MW used by the Bitcoin miner, is enough to supply around 30.000 homes.
The couple Paula and Malcolm Gustafson, who live in a neighboring property where the plant will be built, claim that if the investment is approved, everything will be transformed into a huge black sea and the price of properties will plummet.
