Marathon Digital has begun mining Bitcoin (BTC) utilizing energy generated from methane fuel siphoned off a landfill. The 280-kW off-grid pilot undertaking is working in Utah.

Marathon teamed up with Nodal Energy on the undertaking. Nodal Energy was launched in November 2022 and produces power from landfill fuel within the southeastern United States and Texas. It raised $13 million in a seed spherical in August to function two websites, one in every of which features a knowledge heart.

Marathon said in an announcement that the undertaking is “a part of a broader initiative being performed by the Firm to validate its skill to seize methane emitted from landfills, convert it into electrical energy, after which use that electrical energy to energy Bitcoin miners.” Marathon CEO Fred Thiel mentioned:

“Ought to the outcomes of the pilot undertaking meet our expectations, we stay up for increasing our footprint on this space and serving to landfill operators and others meet their environmental targets.”

Bitcoin miners are actively in search of new inexperienced producing options. Genesis Digital Belongings Restricted, for instance, set up an 8-MW facility in Sweden in August that makes use of hydropower.

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Marathon lower the ribbon on a 200-MW immersion-cooled facility in Abu Dhabi’s sustainable Masdar Metropolis in late October. It released a report that month that discovered crypto mining at landfills is sensible and has a number of benefits for miners and landfill house owners, in addition to the surroundings. In response to the United Nations, methane is much extra damaging to the surroundings than carbon dioxide.

#Bitcoin is incentivized to reap the benefits of this wasted renewable energy and we’re honored to be part of this pilot with @MarathonDH https://t.co/BxC8O84SWh

— Nodal (@NodalPower) November 2, 2023

Marathon reported second-quarter earnings this yr fell short of expectations, even though it mined a report 2,926 Bitcoin within the quarter. Its Q2 income elevated 228% year-on-year to $132.8 million.

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