US-based Bitcoin mining company TeraWulf has started up a new crypto mining facility in Pennsylvania – running exclusively on nuclear energy generated on site.
In a March 6 statement, TeraWulf said the Nautilus Cryptomine facility is the first “behind the meter” Bitcoin (BTC) mining facility, which refers to using energy directly at the generation site without traveling through the grid.
It is official…
The first nuclear-powered mining facility in the US is hashing!!! $WULF https://t.co/tLndh2bKOz@BitcoinMagazine @BTTCN @keremkaradagcom @crypto @decryptmedia @benzingacrypto @BTC_Archive— TeraWulf (@TeraWulfInc) March 6, 2023
The Nautilus Cryptomine draws carbon-free baseload power directly from the 2.5 gigawatt (GW) Susquehanna Nuclear Generating Station on site.
Paul Prager, chairman and CEO of TeraWulf claims that the Nautilus mining facility now has “arguably the cheapest power in the industry, just $0.02/kWh for five years.”
The company also revealed that they have now brought online nearly 8,000 mining rigs representing a computational power or hash rate of 1.0 exahashes per second (EH/s), with plans for an additional 8,000 miners by May, increasing the hash rate. increased to 1.9 EH/s.
TeraWulf has a 50 megawatt (MW) share of phase one of the new facility, a joint venture with Cumulus Coin, but may add an additional 50 MW of BTC mining capacity in future phases.
According to TeraWulf’s website, the Nautilus Cryptomine is expected to reach 300 MW upon completion and will be among the largest mines in North America.
First announced in August 2021, the Nautilus Cryptomine facility is the result of a partnership between TeraWulf’s nuclear mining subsidiary and power generation and infrastructure company Talen Energy Corporation.
Phase 1 of the joint venture included the 180 MW “Nautilus Cryptomine”, built on the Talen digital infrastructure campus adjacent to the nuclear power plant.
TeraWulf generates domestically produced BTC powered by nuclear, hydro, and solar energy with the goal of using 100% carbon-free energy.
Related: US lawmakers renew call for EPA investigation into crypto mining emissions data
Concerns about the potential environmental impacts of BTC mining have increased in recent years with heated debates about the environmental and energy impact surrounding crypto asset mining.
Last year, New York signed a two-year moratorium banning new fossil fuel Bitcoin miners from establishing themselves in the state.
While in October 2022 Europe took steps towards regulatory action against the alleged environmental impact of crypto.