United States-based Bitcoin mining company TeraWulf has fired up a new crypto mining facility in Pennsylvania – using only nuclear power generated on site.
In a statement on March 6, TeraWulf said the Nautilus Cryptomine facility is the first Bitcoin (BTC) mining facility “behind the meter”, which refers to using energy directly at the generation site without traveling through the grid.
It’s official…
The first nuclear powered mining facility in the US is hashing!!! $WULF https://t.co/tLndh2bKOz@BitcoinMagazine @BTCTN @keremkaradagcom @crypto @decryptmedia @benzingacrypto @BTC_Arsip— TeraWulf (@TeraWulfInc) March 6, 2023
Nautilus Cryptomine directly sources carbon-free baseload power from the 2.5 gigawatt (GW) Susquehanna nuclear generating station on site.
Paul Prager, Chairman and CEO of TeraWulf claims the Nautilus mining facility now has “the lowest cost power in the sector, only $0.02/kWh over five years.”
The company also announced that it has now brought online almost 8,000 mining rigs that represent a computing power, or hash rate, of 1.0 exahashes per second (EH/s), with plans to another 8,000 miners in May, increasing the hash rate to 1.9 EH/s. .
TeraWulf has 50 megawatts (MW) shown in the first phase of the new facility, a joint venture with Cumulus Coin, but can add an additional 50 MW of BTC mining capacity in future phases.
According to the TeraWulf website, the Nautilus Cryptomine is expected to reach 300 MW upon completion and will be the largest mine in North America.
First announced in August, 2021, the Nautilus Cryptomine facility is the result of a partnership between nuclear mining facility subsidiary TeraWulf and power generation and infrastructure company Talen Energy Corporation.
Phase 1 of the joint venture consists of a 180-MW “Nautilus Cryptomine” built on Talen’s digital infrastructure campus adjacent to a nuclear power station.
TeraWulf produces domestically produced BTC with nuclear, hydro, and solar power with the goal of using 100% zero carbon energy.
related: US lawmakers renew calls for EPA investigation into crypto mining emissions data
Concerns about the potential environmental impact of BTC mining have increased over the past few years with heated debates about the environmental and energy impacts surrounding the mining of crypto assets.
Last year, New York signed a two-year moratorium banning new fossil fuel-powered Bitcoin miners from setting up shop in the state.
While in October 2022, Europe moves to take regulatory action on the alleged environmental impact of crypto as well.