Massive Bitcoin Data Center In Iceland To Run On 100% Green Energy
The Moonlite Project is creating a data center in Iceland that will only run off renewable energy sources. With completion slated for August, it provides a better way to mine Bitcoins for the environment.
Updated May 22 2019, 2:28 p.m. ET
While the value of Bitcoin is on the decline in early February, the cryptocurrency phenomenon continues around the world. Since the process of mining this currency takes up a lot of energy, some intuitive startups have created ways to reuse this power, such as growing crops from the excess heat. A data center exclusively designed to mine cryptocurrency in Iceland will be fully running on renewable energy.
Bitcoin has seen a sharp decline over the past month, dropping from nearly $17,100 on January 6th all the way to under $8,300 on February 5th. China has added offshore cryptocurrency exchanges to a ban list in order to prevent financial risks. There is a chance that the value could be back on the rise after the US Senate Banking Committee ends their discussions on potential regulations for cryptocurrency.
With how volatile trading is for Bitcoin, it’s hard to know how long it’s going to last. While many learned about the existence of it late last year, it’s actually been around since 2009 and kept a low profile with anonymous trading. Now, depending on the analyst, it’s projected to either be worth $0 or $100,000.
If the cryptocurrency shoots back up, it’s important to find renewable energy to offset the massive carbon emissions that mining can create. The Moonlite Project is doing just that by building a new data center in Iceland, with construction beginning in April and completion expected in August.
The data center will feature a power capacity of 15 megawatts upon opening and that will be expanded in the future. Up to $8 million worth of cryptocurrency is expected to be mined monthly in the new facility. Eric Krige, CEO and founder of Moonlite Project, hinted at expansion while explaining the benefits of the data center to Digital Trends.
“Our data center, and future data centers, will always make use of 100 percent clean and renewable energy sources, such as energy being generated from hydro, wind, and geothermal sources...Our teams will be implementing some smart mining tech as well, including A.I. and custom algorithms to assist in miner management, and to ensure that we are focusing on what is profitable at all times.”
Iceland provides many benefits for data centers, including their colder climate that removes further need to keep operations cool. The country is in a good location between the United States and Europe, who will be using the majority of these data centers. Thanks to the government’s incentives and foreign tax breaks, it’s cheap to buy land and build a facility.
The Moonlite Project not only hopes to run an efficient data center that’s highly profitable, but they are aiming to be one of the biggest cryptocurrency mining companies in the world. Should they successfully be able to run on renewable energy alone, that’s a great step to curb a potentially huge problem. It’ll take many more facilities like this one to satisfy demand, especially if Bitcoin does start to reach the six-figure value.
