Block and Blockstream, two tech firms in the U.S, are working toward launching its Bitcoin creation center, powered by solar energy, in June, in its effort to make cryptocurrencies more eco-friendly and less expensive.
Adam Back, the chief executive of Block, said that the Formerly called Square, a digital payments group, Block and Blockstream, a blockchain specialist, each had made an investment of $6 million in the pilot project that originally should have produced about 0.1 Bitcoin a day.
Blockstream, in an announcement, revealed that the location of the center would be West Texas, and it’s going to be equipped with Tesla batteries and solar panels. Back further said that many have talked about the theory, and we decided to put it into practice to provide people with actual data, which they can quote and cite.
He says that the aim is not just to create Bitcoin but to derive home the fact that the ‘mining’ can prove to be useful for funding infrastructure for renewable energy. According to Back, the idea is that the Bitcoin creation center can utilize excess capacity from facilities that produce renewable energy, with a huge amount of energy directed to business consumption and homes.
Bitcoin Mining means solving complex mathematical equations that require an ever-increasing electricity supply. Back shares the two project partners in case the tests turn out to be conclusive; they intend to increase the project size 100x on the same site.
It is also interesting to note that this project is not the first one to depend completely on renewable energy. Mining is done at a geothermal power plant utilizing the energy from surrounding volcanoes in El Salvador, the first country to allow cryptocurrency transactions.
The crypto industry has faced severe criticism from around the world regarding its energy consumption. However, recent years have witnessed various initiatives emerging in the cryptocurrency sector in order to have a more eco-friendly model. Just last year, dozens of companies came together to form the Crypto Climate Accord and pledged to attain carbon neutrality till 2030.
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2022/04/11/block-and-blockstream-partners-to-launch-solar-powered-bitcoin-creation-center/