The first atomic bitcoin farm was completed in the USA

Cumulus Data has completed construction of a data center connected to the Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant in

eastern USA.By the end of the year, a TeraWulf Bitcoin mining farm will be located on the site. This is the first company that will use only nuclear energy to mine cryptocurrency in the United States, and the first officially confirmed in the world.

It is reported that the Cumulus Susquehanna data center willuse 475 MW for data processing with zero carbon emissions. At present, the construction of only the first phase of the facility with an area of ​​27.8 thousand m² and a capacity of 48 MW has been completed. The data center is directly connected to the 2.5 GW Susquehanna nuclear power plant.


Cumulus Susquehanna Data Center. Video: Cumulus Data

Mining is critical to productionbitcoin. In this cryptocurrency, users solve complex mathematical puzzles to generate a new coin. As cryptocurrency developed, tasks became more difficult and miners needed more computing resources. This significantly increased energy consumption. 

According to estimates, only in 2022 the productionbitcoin led to the release of about 86.3 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The use of renewable and alternative energy sources for the production of cryptocurrency, in theory, should smooth out the negative impact on the environment.

Nuclear power plants providingrelatively cheap and environmentally friendly energy, are used as points for locating data centers in different countries. For example, in Russia, SC Rosatom is developing its own network of such data centers. So far, no one has officially announced the use of such centers for cryptocurrency mining.

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