Cryptocurrency mining using nuclear power in America: ‘Cleaner Energy will reduce carbon footprint and negativity about Bitcoin crypto-mining’?

Cryptocurrency mining Nuclear Power
A Nuclear power plant will supply all its energy to crypto-mining? Pic credit: Crypto360/Flickr

The United States of America will have the first-ever cryptocurrency mining operation or crypto-mining farm that will draw power entirely from a nuclear power plant. The primary agenda behind the initiative is to reduce the carbon footprint of this energy-intensive activity.

As countries and eco-conscious businesses reevaluate their opinion about the sustainability of cryptocurrency, America is getting a crypto-mining farm that runs on nuclear energy.

U.S. company Talen Energy plans on building a 300MW nuclear-powered crypto mining facility:

Talen Energy, a U.S. power company, plans on building a 300MW crypto mining facility and data center. The cryptocurrency mining farm will be located right next to the company’s nuclear Susquehanna Steam Electric Station in Pennsylvania.

Talen Energy has a subsidiary called Cumulus Coin that will mine cryptocurrency using nuclear energy. Simply put, an energy production house is actively generating cryptocurrencies.

Interestingly, 300MW is just the beginning. Talen Energy plans to eventually triple its capacity to 1GW of on-site power. The company plans to gradually increase power generation capacity in increments.

Reports indicate there would be 164MW of capacity initially. Dual 1+GW nuclear units and two independent substations will eventually power the entire nuclear power plant when the first phase of development is complete.

The precedent is quite concerning owing to the potential profits that energy companies can make from mining, instead of selling the power to customers. Reports indicate Albany Engineering Corp in New York said they could make more money mining cryptocurrency than selling the power to its customers.

The U.S. legitimizes and expands cryptocurrency mining operations but at what cost?

Talen Energy claims it has obtained the relevant and necessary permits. It added that the “data center facility will provide low-cost, reliable, carbon-free power to the data center clients on campus. This allows clients to benefit from carbon-free, 24/7 power being supplied directly to the campus.”

The company could be taking a dig at renewable energy sources. The primary concern about sustainable power generation is reliability and consistency.

Power plants running by burning fossil fuels, on the other hand, emit a lot of pollution. These plants should not power a cryptocurrency mining farm.

Proponents of cryptocurrencies mined using nuclear power claim the environmental impact is lowered. Nuclear power is still way cleaner than most of the power generation technologies. Some sporadic disasters aside, the energy produced by nuclear has a way smaller carbon footprint.

Elon Musk had accepted and then swiftly rejected Bitcoin owing to its huge carbon footprint. Many environmentalists are, however, concerned. Some experts reportedly ask why should any energy resources, be they nuclear or geothermal or otherwise, should produce digital money?

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