Indiana lawmakers have assured large businesses “significant amounts” of low-cost electricity and water, hoping to attract and maintain data centers and cryptocurrency mining operations In the region.
Major companies such as Meta, Amazon, Google and Microsoft, as well as cryptocurrency mining company AboutBit, have invested or plan to invest in building their facilities in the state.
Although the state of Indiana offers financial incentives to businesses, AboutBit and other cryptocurrency miners are not eligible for these state programs.
Data centers for financial advantage
In May, Amazon announced plans to invest $11 billion in Indiana, and Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb said:
“Amazon would not have made this commitment without confidence in our ability to save energy and water.”
Additionally, Commerce Secretary David Rosenberg, president of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, said the state has “adequate quantities” of energy and water.
AboutBit has converted a 50-year-old power plant into a sustainable liquid-cooled cryptocurrency mining facility. It currently operates adjacent to the Merom Generating Station in Indiana.
about: Bitcoin Halving Affects Miner Riot’s Revenue by 43% Despite New Facilities
Energy consumption in Bitcoin mining
As of May 28, Bitcoin (BTC) miners in the United States have spent $2.7 billion on electricity this year.
“Since the start of 2024, Bitcoin mining in the United States has consumed a whopping 20,822.62 gigawatt hours of electrical energy,” said Paul Hoffman, an analyst at Best Brokers. “At the average commercial electricity price of $0.1281 per kilowatt hour in February, this equates to an expense of $2,667,378,196.47.
Before Bitcoin’s halving in April, mining one bitcoin required 407,059.01 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity, which costs approximately $52,144.26. Since the halving, the electricity required to mine one bitcoin has increased to 862,635.55 kilowatt hours, costing approximately $110,503.61 at average commercial prices.
“This amount of energy could charge every electric vehicle in the United States 87.52 times or power 1,983,107 homes for a year, which represents 1.51% of all U.S. homes,” Hoffman explained.
In January, the Bitcoin ESG forecast revealed that sustainable energy consumption in Bitcoin mining had reached a new all-time high of 54.5%, with sustainable mining up 3.6% overall up to in 2023.
review: Longevity expert: artificial intelligence will help us become “biologically immortal” from 2030
