Marathon Digital has begun mining Bitcoin (BTC) using electricity produced from methane gas siphoned from a landfill. The 280 kW off-grid pilot project is underway in Utah.
Marathon worked with Nodal Power on the project. Founded in November 2022, Nodal Power produces energy from landfill gas in the southeastern United States and Texas. In August, the company raised $13 million in a seed round to operate two sites, one of which includes a data center.
A Nodal Power data center. Source: PRNewswire
Marathon said in a statement that the project is “part of a broader initiative by the company to validate its ability to capture methane emitted from landfills, convert it into electricity, and then use that electricity to power Bitcoin miners,” Marathon CEO Fred Thiel said:
“If the results of the pilot project meet our expectations, we look forward to expanding our presence in this area and helping landfill operators and others achieve their environmental goals.”
Bitcoin miners are actively looking for new environmentally friendly solutions to generate electricity. Genesis Digital Assets Limited, for example, built an 8 MW facility in Sweden in August that uses hydroelectric power.
Related: Bitcoin miners are looking for alternative energy sources to reduce costs
At the end of October, Marathon cut the ribbon on a 200 MW immersion-cooled facility in the sustainable city of Masdar City in Abu Dhabi. A report was released this month that found landfill crypto mining is practical and brings a number of benefits to miners and landfill owners, as well as the environment. According to the United Nations, methane is far more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide.
#Bitcoin is incentivized to harness this wasted renewable energy and we are honored to be part of this pilot with @MarathonDH https://t.co/BxC8O84SWh
– Nodal (@NodalPower) November 2, 2023
Marathon reported that profits for the second quarter of this year fell short of expectations, despite the company mining a record 2,926 Bitcoins in the quarter. Second-quarter revenue rose 228% year-over-year to $132.8 million.
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