TeraWulf – which focuses on environmentally clean mining operations – has announced starting operations of Nautilus Cryptomine, the first nuclear-powered Bitcoin mining facility in the United States.
The facility reportedly sources carbon-free and 24×7 baseload power from the 2.5 GW Susquehanna nuclear generation station located in Pennsylvania.
According to the official press release, the company has bought nearly 8,000 mining rigs online, representing a hash rate of nearly 1.0 exahash per second (EH/s). Another 8,000 mining rigs are expected to be energized over the next few weeks, which would catapult the capacity at the Nautilus facility to 50 MW and 1.9 EH/s by May.
Commenting on the development, Paul Prager, Chairman and CEO of TeraWulf, stated,
“The Nautilus nuclear-powered mining facility benefits from what is arguably the lowest cost power in the sector, just $0.02/kWh for a term of five years,” continued Prager. “We look forward to continuing to work alongside Cumulus Coin as the Nautilus facility increases the operational hash rate in the coming weeks.”
Besides boosting its 50-MW stake in the newest nuclear-powered Bitcoin miner, the company is also working on expanding bitcoin mining operations at its wholly-owned Lake Mariner facility in New York with the addition of Building 2. This is expected to increase the facility’s operational capacity from 60 MW to 110 MW.
As per TeraWulf’s estimates, the total operational capacity could go up to 50,000 miners (5.5 EH/s) in early Q2 of this year, which will account for almost 160 MW of power demand.
The long crypto winter triggered major bankruptcies and fire sales. TeraWulf also struggled during the same time as it resorted to cost-cutting measures in November as Bitcoin’s price plunged and energy costs soared. Last month, the firm restructured its debt obligations to prevent sliding into bankruptcy protection.
TeraWulf ramped up its mining activities with an increased number of machinery since the beginning of the year. As reported earlier, the US-based miner received 6,100 miners from Bitmain, increasing the total to 18,000. Furthermore, 15,900 machines are expected to arrive by the end of the first quarter.
Prager had earlier noted that the company plans to “aggressively expand and efficiently operate,” keeping the operating capacity sustainable and low-cost.