Tesla, Block and Blockstream to mine bitcoin off solar power in Texas

Electric-vehicle maker Tesla Inc, payments firm Block Inc and blockchain company Blockstream Corp will collaborate to mine bitcoin using solar power in Texas, Blockstream CEO Adam Back said on Friday.

Blockstream and Block, which was previously known as Square, had revealed in June that they were collaborating to build an open-source and solar-powered bitcoin mining facility in the United States.

“Weʼre excited to start the construction of this facility using Tesla Solar and Megapack,” Back has said now. “This is a step to proving our thesis that Bitcoin mining can fund zero-emission power infrastructure and build economic growth for the future.”

Tesla is building the solar power infrastructure and providing its Megapack batteries, Back added. Once completed, the new solar-powered Bitcoin mining facility will result in a projected 3.8 Megawatts of solar renewable power (e.g. off-grid energy), and a 30 Petahash (PH) hash rate, while it will also include a public-facing performance dashboard for the project.

Further, the facility is seen to strengthen the Bitcoin network by diversifying Bitcoinʼs energy sources. Also, this will lead to encouraging new innovations in powering zero-emission Bitcoin mining.

“By collaborating on this full-stack, 100% solar-powered Bitcoin mining project with Blockstream, using solar and storage technology from Tesla, we aim to further accelerate Bitcoinʼs synergy with renewables,” said Neil Jorgensen, Global ESG Lead at Block and Project Lead for Blockʼs Bitcoin Clean Energy Initiative.

In a statement, Blockstream stated that it will provide the mining infrastructure and expertise to build and oversee the project, with the Bitcoin mining facility aiming to be completed later this year. In addition to providing regular reports on the economics of the project, a publicly accessible dashboard showing real-time metrics of the projectʼs performance, including power output and bitcoin mined, will be made available.

Bitcoin is created when high-powered computers compete against other machines to solve complex mathematical puzzles, an energy-intensive process that currently often relies on fossil fuels. Environmental concerns related to bitcoin mining and cryptocurrency had in May last year prompted Tesla to stop accepting bitcoin for car purchases.