Costa Rica’s hydropower plant revived for crypto mining

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An anonymous reader cites a Reuters report: A former hydroelectric power station in Costa Rica is taking a new lease of life by fueling crypto mining and bringing clean energy to a growing business. More than 650 machines from 150 customers operate continuously from this factory located next to the Poas River, just outside the capital San José. Costa Rica produces almost all of its energy from green sources, where the state has a monopoly on energy distribution. But the government stopped buying electricity due to the excess electricity in the country, forcing the plant to reinvent itself.

Eduardo Kooper is the owner of the CR Data Center and the factory. “We had a lot of electricity, but we didn’t. We had to put it off for nine months. We looked for a lot of alternatives – from deep frying to frozen foods – anything that uses a lot of energy. . Just a year ago, someone told me about Bitcoin, blockchain, and digital mining. ” Kooper, skeptical at first, learned that crypto mining activity requires a lot of energy, much of which comes from fossil fuels. The company has invested $ 500,000 to start hosting digital mining computers. “Our market is the international miner looking for better conditions,” Kooper said. “This miner is looking for clean energy, cheap energy that is economically viable, and is looking for an Internet connection, where he finds that this is where this miner is going to go.”

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