Cumulus Data Takes on US Nuclear for Bitcoin Mining

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(Kitco News) – As the quest to locate the cheapest form of energy to mine Bitcoin (BTC) continues, a company in the United States has announced that its first nuclear-powered data center offering mining Bitcoin is expected to start operating in the first quarter of the year.

According to a report by World Nuclear News, Cumulus Data, a subsidiary of Talen Energy, has completed construction of the Cumulus Susquehanna data center in Pennsylvania. The center is expected to begin hosting nuclear-powered bitcoin mining and cloud computing services in the first quarter of 2023.

The new 48 megawatt (MW), 300,000 square foot data center is powered by a direct connection to the 2.5 gigawatt Susquehanna Nuclear Generating Station in northeastern Pennsylvania.

“Our flagship Cumulus Susquehanna data center campus is well positioned to welcome its first tenant and begin commercial operations this year,” said Alex Hernandez, CEO of Cumulus Data. rapid increase in consumer demand for carbon-free, low-cost and reliable electricity by data center customers. »

The 1,200-acre campus is the first of its kind in the United States and is expected to have a competitive advantage due to its direct connection to the power plant, which means there is no “old service intermediation electricity transmission and distribution utilities.

Cumulus is developing two additional 48 MW hulls that will eventually bring the total campus capacity to 475 MW. The company has also identified 18 additional Talen energy sites that have the potential to have data centers directly connected to production.

Development of the Nautilus Cryptomine on the Cumulus Data campus began in August 2021 when Talen Energy partnered with US-based Bitcoin mining company TeraWulf, a Bitcoin mining company focused on infrastructure dedicated to acceleration of the transition to a zero-carbon future.

In its latest update, TeraWulf said it is “in the early stages of ramping up its mining operations and is expected to deliver 50MW of net mining capacity to TeraWulf in the first quarter of 2023, representing the stake of 25% of the company in the joint venture”.

As pressure to promote eco-friendly bitcoin mining grows, interest in mining continues to grow, as evidenced by the hashrate of the bitcoin network hitting a new all-time high of 276.9 TH/s on January 19 according to data from Blockchain.com.

Bitcoin network total hash rate. Source: Blockchain.com

The sudden jump in mining hashrate seen in late December is the result of many US-based mining companies coming back online after winter storms forced them to shut down operations. The United States remains the world leader in Bitcoin hashrate contribution, with 35.4% of its hashrate currently generated by mining operations in the country.

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