The oldest 3-phase power plant has now said it will start mining BTC. It’ll use some of the energy it produces to mine Bitcoin. Mechanicville Power Station made this announcement very recently.
According to Jim Besha, the CEO of Albany Engineering Corp, Mechanicville Power Station is mining BTC because it’s more profitable than selling the country’s extra energy. This report comes even though Bitcoin mining is currently under huge fire because of the impact of its carbon footprint. As a result, most of the BTC mining companies in China had to move to other locations or shut down. The cryptocurrency market crashed as a result of this. In addition, Bitcoin’s price drastically dropped by nearly 50% from the all-time high of over $64,000 that was seen in mid-April.
Regarding this, Mr. Besha said that the argument didn’t concern them because their company used renewable energy. He also added that this BTC mining would help them dispose of used servers as well. He said that it was the best kind of mining because renewable energy was what was being used. He further stated that they were still experimenting with it and doing the mining on the side. However, he confirmed that they were buying used servers.
History of Mechanicville
In Mechanicville district, New York, there sits a slighty over 18.3 acre site that’s regarded as one of the world’s oldest renewable energy plants. Mechanicville Power Station was a product of the Hudson River Power Transmission Company and was built in the year 1897. However, the station was nearly shut down a few years ago. Albany Engineering Corporation now owns the station and a deal was signed to ensure that cheap renewable energy remains easily accessible. Mr Besha said they are currently making thrice what they’d have made selling electrical energy to National Grid.
The New York bill
More so, this idea has come when there’s an existing New York bill that outlaws BTC mining because of its negative environmental impact. But, it’s not so clear how this existing bill drafted in New York will affect the company’s BTC’s mining operations as it employs renewable energy.
