Indiana lawmakers have committed to providing substantial resources of low-cost power and water to major corporations, aiming to attract data centers and cryptocurrency mining operations to the state.
The allure of ample utilities has already drawn the attention of tech giants such as Meta, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, as well as cryptocurrency mining company AboutBit, all of which have invested or are planning to construct facilities in Indiana.
Incentives for Tech Giants, Innovation for Crypto Miners
Despite Indiana offering financial incentives to various organizations, these benefits do not extend to AboutBit and other cryptocurrency miners.
This distinction has not deterred AboutBit, which has innovatively converted a 50-year-old power station into a sustainable, liquid-cooled cryptocurrency mining facility adjacent to the Merom Generating Station.
In a notable development this May, Amazon declared an $11 billion investment in Indiana. Governor Eric Holcomb highlighted the state’s capability to meet the substantial utility needs of such a project, emphasizing that Amazon’s decision was influenced by the assurance of sufficient power and water supplies.
Echoing this sentiment, David Rosenberg, Commerce Secretary and head of the Indiana Economic Development Corp., confirmed the state’s readiness to supply these critical resources.
The cryptocurrency sector, particularly Bitcoin mining, has shown significant energy demands. Analyst Paul Hoffman from Best Brokers reported that, as of May 28, 2024, Bitcoin miners in the U.S. had spent $2.7 billion on electricity.
Since the beginning of the year, the industry has consumed 20,822.62 GWh of electric power. With the average commercial electricity rate standing at $0.1281 per kWh as of February, this consumption translates into a massive financial expenditure.
Putting Bitcoin’s Energy Consumption in Perspective
The energy requirements for mining Bitcoin have surged following the halving event in April. Before the halving, mining one Bitcoin required 407,059.01 kilowatt-hours (kWh), costing about $52,144.26.
Post-halving, the energy needed has nearly doubled to 862,635.55 kWh, with the cost escalating to approximately $110,503.61 at current rates.
Hoffman further illustrated the scale of this energy consumption, noting it could charge every electric vehicle in the U.S. 87.52 times or power nearly two million households for a year, accounting for 1.51% of all U.S. households.
Moreover, the Bitcoin ESG Forecast in January revealed that the use of sustainable energy in Bitcoin mining reached a new peak of 54.5%, with a 3.6% increase in sustainable mining practices throughout 2023.
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