Digital Marathon Buys Ladang Angin In Texas For Bitcoin Mining

Marathon Digital buys wind fields in Texas for Bitcoin (Photo; Doc. The Block)

JAKARTA - For the sustainability of Bitcoin mining, Marathon Digital Holdings, the largest Bitcoin mining company in the United States, bought a wind field with a capacity of 114 megawatts (MW) in Hansford County, Texas. This wind field will be used to operate Bitcoin mining activities through renewable energy in its operations.

Based on documents submitted to the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), this wind field will only be used for mining operations when wind energy is available. With this approach, Marathon hopes to reduce dependence on conventional power grids and utilize environmentally friendly energy resources.

Marathon CEO Fred Thiel explained that this operation was designed to utilize energy at a marginal cost. In addition, the old generation of mining equipment will be used, which will provide a second chance for hardware that was previously considered economical.

Quoted from Coinspeaker, Thiel said, "We move the market to where energy is available, instead of moving energy to where the market is located." He also added that this wind field will operate about 30% of the specified time, depending on the availability of the wind. Operations are halted as the wind is weak to maintain energy efficiency and reduce carbon footprint.

Marathon Digital does this amid increasing energy use competition with large technology companies, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) which requires large amounts of electric power. Marathon is trying to find alternative solutions, such as wind and solar energy, to stay competitive in the Bitcoin mining market that is increasingly demanding efficiency.

This transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2025. Marathon also hints at the potential acquisition of other wind and solar fields as part of their long-term sustainability strategy.

As of the end of November 2024, Marathon has reserves of 34,959 BTC worth around 3.3 billion US Dollars (Rp52.6 trillion). Whereas previously, the company also raised funds of 700 million US Dollars (Rp11 trillion) to fund buying additional Bitcoins.