Houston-based tech company Lancium has raised $150 million to expand its renewable energy-run Bitcoin mining business model across Texas. The firm is looking to spend the money on a Bitcoin mine with a capacity of over 2,000 megawatts (MW) in 2022.
The funding round was led by clean energy company Hanwha Solutions, in conjunction with other companies in the same industry.
Lancium, which specializes in Bitcoin mining, develops software with technology that eases mining operations’ uptime based on energy prices and grid load.
Some of the common issues with renewable energy farms include price volatility and uptime inconsistencies, caused by an imbalance in demand and supply. Lancium allows Bitcoin miners to plug and unplug their rigs at will depending on the energy demands on the grid.
West Texas enjoys solar and wind power in abundance, but such energy sources are not continuous. An increase in the demand for renewable energy remains an issue of concern, as the grid’s supply would be restricted and unable to meet the demand. Lancium partnered with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), a non-profit organization that operates Texas’ grid and pays miners to power down. Its technology makes it possible for the energy demand to be dialed up and down, in relation to the grid’s supply and demand dynamics at any given moment.
Lancium’s sites act like a large power station but in reverse […] the mines will absorb abundant renewable energy at times when supply outpaces demand, thereby monetizing these assets when there are no other buyers. And on the flip side, the mines will incrementally ramp down their energy intake, as demand on the grid rises.
Imagine how much you would have to pay Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) to say, ‘Hey, there’s too much demand for power. Please power down your data center, […] but it can do that with Bitcoin very easily, because all you have to do is pay the miners slightly more than what they would have made mining for Bitcoin that hour.