Riot Blockchain announces 1 GW expansion of bitcoin mining capacity

The Nasdaq-listed mining company Riot Blockchain объявила о планах строительства объекта для добычи биткоина мощностью 1 ГВт в округе Наварро штата Техас.

The firm has already begun implementation of the first phase. As part of it, a facility spanning over 107 hectares will be constructed with a capacity of 400 MW. Operations using immersion-cooled equipment are expected to begin in July 2023.

The first phase includes:

• покупку земли и подготовку площадки;
• строительство подстанции и линий электропередач;
• возведение вспомогательных сооружений и четырех зданий для инфраструктуры майнинга.

Riot estimates the cost of this phase at $333 million with phased investments through the end of the first quarter of 2024.

Going forward, capacity at the site will be increased by 600 MW.

“Upon completion of the expansion, installed capacity will reach 1700 MW, making the company one of the largest bitcoin mining businesses in the world,” said Riot CEO Jason Les.

The project’s partner is infrastructure firm Priority Power, which will oversee site development, utility interconnection, and power supply.

The companies collaborated during the development of the Whinstone US data center. Located in Rockdale, Texas, the mining firm acquired it in 2021.

Riot noted that the new site is within a two-hour drive, enabling efficient deployment of the technical workforce.

In Texas, data centres of several industry players are already located or under construction, including Compute North, Iris Energy, Core Scientific and Marathon Digital.

One of the region’s cities, Fort Worth, became the first in the United States to start bitcoin mining in a pilot project.