Crypto Goes Nuclear: Pennsylvania and Ohio to be Home to Nuclear-Powered Cryptomining

[Raevenlord]

Crypto is going nuclear in the not so distant future, as US company Talen Energy revealed plans to construct a cryptomining data center in the immediate vicinity of the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station in Pennsylvania. Initial power consumption of the installation is expected to settle around 164 MW, with that figure climbing up to 300 MW once the infrastructure is complete - powered by dual 1+GW nuclear units and two independent substations. Talen Energy estimates maximum on-site power in the order of 1 GW.


The idea is to begin a narrative reversal around the environmental cost of cryptocurrency mining - if power is provided by cleaner technology, cryptocurrency mining's carbon footprint is bound to be reduced, in turn increasing attractiveness for environmentally-conscious businesses. Elon Musk, for one, made waves in both news outlets and cryptocurrency markets (and value) when he announced the decision for Tesla to cancel acceptance of Bitcoin as payment for its vehicles, citing environmental concerns regarding power sources keeping Bitcoin's blockchain secure. Another company, Energy Harbor Corp, announced a five-year collaboration with Standard Power to power its Bitcoin blockchain mining center in Coshocton, Ohio, starting December this year.





Love it or hate it, blockchain technology is going nowhere - it's one of the most important, fundamental and transformational technologies in recent decades. much like nuclear power (and nuclear weapons, for that matter) weren't loved by everyone at the technologies' introduction (and still aren't loved by everyone), so does the future contemplate blockchain technology irrespective of our own personal opinion on the matter. It was only a matter of time before crypto went nuclear - and for a technology that consumes more power than several countries combined, the change to more sustainable, less carbon-.intensive technologies surely is a welcome one.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[sebanab]

Green cryptominning does not mean wasting a nuclear power plant's output for it.
It means reworking the algorithms to consume less power. (99% less power)

I agree that it is here to stay , and that it is as big as nuclear power and so on. That is all true and clear.
But it seams you are missing the point when believing that one (or more) nuclear power plants will make ALL mining turn green.

 

[thegnome]

Not a hater on crypto, but using a whole reactor just to mine it seems a bit of a stretch. Didn't the US have such radical climate plans but still would allow this to get built?

 

[64K]

As long as the power plant isn't subsidized by taxpayer dollars then it doesn't bother me what they do with the power plant.

 

[R-T-B]

Green cryptominning does not mean wasting a nuclear power plant's output for it.
It means reworking the algorithms to consume less power. (99% less power)

I agree that it is here to stay , and that it is as big as nuclear power and so on. That is all true and clear.
But it seams you are missing the point when believing that one (or more) nuclear power plants will make ALL mining turn green.

The idea is to fund green energy projects, and then when PoW is finally abandoned, crypto will have done society a good turn society could not do on its own.

Crypto is also funding Americas biggest solar project right now.

Not a hater on crypto, but using a whole reactor just to mine it seems a bit of a stretch.

Most of these projects split the output between mining and general electrical business. Maybe even less than that here.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Nuclear plant not sure that would happen EPA wouldn't sit still for that to happen anytime soon.

 

[Dux]

I hope it crashes even more before RTX 4000 and RDNA 3 cards come out. Otherwise we get the same situation with availability and pricing we got today. Even if more fabs get made, cryptominers simply never have enough cards.

 

[TechLurker]

On one hand, it's not a bad thing for renewable and nuclear power facilities with idle excess to use the excess power on controlled mining, helps pay for themselves and maintenance (if the execs are forward-thinking enough). It also results in a limit as to how far they can expand the mining operation, being as it'd be dependent on spare power being available and average seasonal effects (an issue more for wind and solar, but drought can affect hydroelectric).

On the other, it seems like a waste, considering they could also be putting that same energy reserves into battery storage systems for the rare freak storm, or long-term energy contracts with local charging stations or hydrogen production stations (both would sell too, just not as instantly as mined coin) guaranteeing power (or fuel) even in brownout scenarios. It could also go into increasing the number of homes powered by "clean" energy, although that one is more an issue with the power distributors (the middlemen doing the last-mile hook-ups and connections, if they aren't a power producer) buying the cheapest power contracts to sell at mark-up.

Maybe a combination of the two could be agreeable? Spare excess electricity to mining to build up some cash reserves for operational and maintenance costs, and also to emergency reserve systems such as battery power plants or dedicated charging facilities. Granted, that seems more altruistic than what would really happen.

 

[Crackong]

As long as the power plant isn't subsidized by taxpayer dollars then it doesn't bother me what they do with the power plant.

The plant will be using water for cooling
The mining site will use air for cooling

These things are subsidized by everyone on the planet, no matter your are a taxpayer or not

 

[ZoneDymo]

had to double check, but no, it isnt april 1st

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

powered by dual 1+GW nuclear units and two independent substations. Talen Energy estimates maximum on-site power in the order of 1 GW.

Total Power is 2+GW, from 2 nuclear units and two independent substations.

Onsite power, is expected to be 1GW, leaving 1GW to distribute into the local power grid. On the other hand, 1GW onsite power could mean they are running at 50% load.

 

[Solidstate89]

blockchain technology is going nowhere - it's one of the most important, fundamental and transformational technologies in recent decades

lmfao

 

[Pineapples_revenge]

Physical proximity to a nuclear power plant has nothing to do with the source of the power. This is deliberate misinformation for gullible investors.

Nuclear power plants typically operate at full rated power to stay as profitable as possible. This means that all energy produced by the plant is absorbed by grid load. Any additional demand from the grid is taken up by other power producers, in this case, natural gas power plants. Therefore, this installation will be just as polluting as any other which draws 300 MW.

Source: I am an electrical engineer who works on an electric transmission grid.

 

[moproblems99]

Shhhh, yesssssss, yesssssss. Fill my Cup of Tears so I may flourish again.

 

[ThrashZone]

Physical proximity to a nuclear power plant has nothing to do with the source of the power. This is deliberate misinformation for gullible investors.

Nuclear power plants typically operate at full rated power to stay as profitable as possible. This means that all energy produced by the plant is absorbed by grid load. Any additional demand from the grid is taken up by other power producers, in this case, natural gas power plants. Therefore, this installation will be just as polluting as any other which draws 300 MW.

Source: I am an electrical engineer who works on an electric transmission grid.

Hi,
When and where in the US was the last nuclear power plant built ?

 

[moproblems99]

Hi,
When and where in the US was the last nuclear power plant built ?

Cheese and rice, I don't think they said they were a Nuclear or Power Grid Historian lol

https://lmgtfy.app/?q=last+nuclear+power+plant+built+in+usa

 

[zlobby]

Right! And dump the waste in the Trench. Plus, the heat from the plan alone would be massive, let alone the heat generated by the mining equipment.

I see nothing could possibly go wrong. Kappa

Physical proximity to a nuclear power plant has nothing to do with the source of the power. This is deliberate misinformation for gullible investors.

Nuclear power plants typically operate at full rated power to stay as profitable as possible. This means that all energy produced by the plant is absorbed by grid load. Any additional demand from the grid is taken up by other power producers, in this case, natural gas power plants. Therefore, this installation will be just as polluting as any other which draws 300 MW.

Source: I am an electrical engineer who works on an electric transmission grid.

Yes, nothing better to forcefully sell the excess electricity to the grid, i.e. poor Muricans, North or South.

Green cryptominning does not mean wasting a nuclear power plant's output for it.
It means reworking the algorithms to consume less power. (99% less power)

I agree that it is here to stay , and that it is as big as nuclear power and so on. That is all true and clear.
But it seams you are missing the point when believing that one (or more) nuclear power plants will make ALL mining turn green.

99% percent less power required? That's one helluva algo to run on a generic CPU/GPU, i.e. non-ASIC!

Total Power is 2+GW, from 2 nuclear units and two independent substations.

Onsite power, is expected to be 1GW, leaving 1GW to distribute into the local power grid. On the other hand, 1GW onsite power could mean they are running at 50% load.

They are chokning my reactor!

I hope it crashes even more before RTX 4000 and RDNA 3 cards come out. Otherwise we get the same situation with availability and pricing we got today. Even if more fabs get made, cryptominers simply never have enough cards.

Probably even worse.

Physical proximity to a nuclear power plant has nothing to do with the source of the power. This is deliberate misinformation for gullible investors.

Nuclear power plants typically operate at full rated power to stay as profitable as possible. This means that all energy produced by the plant is absorbed by grid load. Any additional demand from the grid is taken up by other power producers, in this case, natural gas power plants. Therefore, this installation will be just as polluting as any other which draws 300 MW.

Source: I am an electrical engineer who works on an electric transmission grid.

The grid controller from Kyev? End of the month and the productivity quotas?

 

[Pineapples_revenge]

Hi,
When and where in the US was the last nuclear power plant built ?

That would be Watts Bar Unit 2 in Tennessee (2016), more recently than I thought. However, there has not been substantial development of resources in the industry overall for decades due to political pressure and financial constraints. This will need to change if we are to meet any sort of effective carbon emissions target.

 

[64K]

I hope it crashes even more before RTX 4000 and RDNA 3 cards come out. Otherwise we get the same situation with availability and pricing we got today. Even if more fabs get made, cryptominers simply never have enough cards.

These plants take a while to build. Hopefully gamers will get a decent shot at the next gen GPUs before the miners start hoarding them again.

 

[ThrashZone]

That would be Watts Bar Unit 2 in Tennessee (2016), more recently than I thought. However, there has not been substantial development of resources in the industry overall for decades due to political pressure and financial constraints. This will need to change if we are to meet any sort of effective carbon emissions target.

Hi,
Indeed I was thinking the last nuclear plant was built in Texas along gulf coast 30 or so years ago lol

 

[Raevenlord]

lmfao

You'll remember this comment when your entire life lives in a blockchain - from democratic voting, to payments, bank accounts, taxes, and even your very own personal token.

I'll be laughing when we're all being sold and bought in the blockchain.

Green cryptominning does not mean wasting a nuclear power plant's output for it.
It means reworking the algorithms to consume less power. (99% less power)

I agree that it is here to stay , and that it is as big as nuclear power and so on. That is all true and clear.
But it seams you are missing the point when believing that one (or more) nuclear power plants will make ALL mining turn green.

I agree with you. I never wrote that ALL mining would turn green from this.

But it IS relatively easy for crypto to turn green. Algorand, for example, is even carbon negative.

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

Better than a coal fired power station I suppose.

And it is good to see countries other than China getting involved, it'll help with stability.

 

[Freebird]

... energy reserves into battery storage systems for the rare freak storm...

The Earth already does that; It is called coal, oil & gas... fossil fuels.

 

[canadianminingfarm647]

There are allot of green initiatives being put in place across Canada and the U.S for Crypto mining. We are using natural gas and are converting into electricity purely green we have 100 MWs to anyone looking for power

 

[mechtech]

I looked back at my parents and grandparents like as if you didn't recycle, as if you put lead in everything.

I guess none of that compares to a nuke plant an nuclear waste to make imaginary stuff to try to real money.

What a sad state of affairs.

Maybe try real mining, like gold, the traditional way to get money..........