A teaming up by Talen Energy Corporation and TeraWulf inc has an ambitious plan to make “environmentalists” and Bitcoin detractors eat their words. The duo plans to make Bitcoin mining carbon neutral.
As Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market have spent the greater portion of the year thus far on a bullish trajectory, one of the biggest concerns that make a regular appearance is the unfavorable environmental impacts of Bitcoin mining. More specifically, the negative attention is directed toward the high energy demands of the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism that the BTC blockchain – and many others – run on.
To address this issue, a joint venture between United States based Bitcoin mining firm, TeraWulf inc. and Talen Energy announced their intention to build a “zero-carbon” Bitcoin mining Facility. The chosen name being “Nautilus Cryptomine“, the planned mining installation will be able to generate up to 300 megawatts at full capacity.
The carbon neutral Cryptomine will be developed in phases, with the first being a 180 megawatt mining facility that will be integrated with Talen Energy’s existing infrastructure at the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Berwick, Pennsylvania. The cost of completing this first phase is expected to run as high as $400 million and, it is meant to show both the company’s commitments to the advancement of clean energy and digital assets.
“Our Nautilus Cryptomine JV is another tangible expression of Talen’s transformation to a lower carbon and digital infrastructure future. Nautilus Cryptomine’s mining facilities will create zero-carbon coins with the appropriate regulatory overlay,” said Talen Energy’s president, Alex Hernandez.