Bitcoin Mining firm Marathon Patent Group has agreed a deal with US power producer Beowulf Energy to attain cheap energy for its Bitcoin mining operations.
It’s yet more bullish news for the US as it sees more Bitcoin hashrate trickle its way.
According to an announcement, the Nasdaq-listed mining firm has agreed a joint venture with Beowulf, and the deal will see Marathon build a Bitcoin mining facility and data hub close to Beowulf’s Hardin Generating Station.
The new site will be on 20 acres of land adjacent to the Generating Station, a 105-megawatt power station in Hardin, Montana.
Marathon will install 11,500 S19 Pro Antminers at the mining complex, which is expected to have the capacity to generate 1.265 EH/s Bitcoin mining power.
The Bitcoin mining farm is expected to be fully operational by Q2 2021, and with 500 mining rigs already at the farm, Beouwulf says it intends to grow its hashrate to 3.32 EH/s in the future.
The deal is agreed that Marathon will pay Beowulf $0.028 per kilowatt-hour (kW/h) for the supply of electricity at the facility, and the mining firm will install 11,500 S19 Pro Antminers at the mining farm.
With a current price of $0.034/kWh, the new deal will save Marathon 38% in electricity costs alone.
Marathon Patent Group
Marathon Patent Group, Inc. is a digital asset technology company that mines Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Marathon (MARA) is a Digital Asset company and was one of the first in the crypto space to become listed on Nasdaq.
Marathon says, the reduced power costs will make mining much more profitable from the plant, lowering the costs to mine one bitcoin from the $7,500 to $4,600.
Speaking of the joint venture, Marathon chairman and CEO Merrick Okamoto said,
‘The closing of this joint venture with Beowulf represents the completion of a long journey to own a Bitcoin mining facility. Partnering with an experienced independent power producer enables us to maintain control and certainty of Marathon’s energy and operational costs, at rates that represent some of the lowest in North America.
Beowulf Energy LLC
Beowulf Energy LLC is an independent infrastructure company that develops, builds, owns, and operates power generation and industrial infrastructure facilities around the world.
The company has extensive development and operational experience in domestic and international energy markets, and has developed, constructed, acquired, and operated over $5 billion of power generation and industrial assets.
Beowulf owns and manages over 2.3 Gigawatts of electric generating at the existing capacity, and has earmarked 500 Megawatts for future expansion of its mining operations.
Beowulf will also become an equity shareholder of Marathon, but the mining firm will retain 100% of the Bitcoin mining output generated at the Data Center.
Nazar Khan, Executive Vice President of Beowulf, said,
‘In pursuing the co-location of a Bitcoin mining operation at Hardin, we sought to capture the inherent value to the Data Center of securing a long-term supply of reliable, secure, and low-cost power while benefitting from the significant on-site technical expertise to ensure efficient operations. Our expert in-house engineers and technicians have designed the Data Center to support the immense computing speeds of the latest generation S19 Pro Antminers.’
The Bitcoin Mining Industry Is Rapidly Growing
The Bitcoin mining industry is rapidly growing in the US, and globally. With a race to attract hashpower, corporations are investing billions to mine Bitcoin.
China is by far the biggest producer of Bitcoins with about 65% of the hashrate, but deals like this is seeing a slow and steady trickle of Bitcoin mining to the US.
Companies can obviously get cheap electricity in China, but nobody knows which way Beijing will turn one day to the next, and the uncertainty there is benefitting the US.
With a new all time high for the Bitcoin mining hashrate occurring regularly, it seems things are only going to get more competitive in the Bitcoin mining industry.
And with the recent news that Chinese mining manufacturer MicroBT was outsourcing some of its mining rig manufacturing, in an attempt to gain market share in the US, it seems like more hashrate will find its way West.
Author: Tommy Limpitlaw
A Bitcoiner since 2017 and a Bitcoin Maximalist since 2018, Tommy is our main writer and editor at Bitcoin Maximalist. Other than researching and writing about Bitcoin, Tommy loves spending time with his family and supporting his beloved Leeds United.
