A cryptocurrency mining rig at BWS' mining facility in KY.
Blockware Solutions (BWS) announced Wednesday that it's partnering with SEVA -- a climate-focused company working to recreate mine lands and economies in West Virginia -- to support its solar farm endeavor. The new mining facility will be powered by West Virginia's PJM power grid as well as the new solar farm. Construction on the 150-megawatt Bitcoin mining facility is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2022.
The partnership with BWS is in support of SEVA's multi-phase SunPark project, which is set to include industrial and commercial development, an educational experience, tourism and hospitality venues, and other features.
The SunPark solar farm will be West Virginia's largest at 3,000 acres. Both the solar farm and BWS's mining facility are being built on the Hobet mining site, an abandoned coal mine in the Boone and Lincoln counties of West Virginia.
The construction on BWS's Bitcoin mining facility will take place in phases, with the first phase being a 60-megawatt facility on a 20-acre site. The company has two other facilities in eastern Kentucky: a 20-megawatt mining facility and a 30-megawatt mining facility that's currently under construction. According to the press release[1], the construction is expected to bring high-paying jobs to the area, with an average hourly wage of $23.
The environmental impact of Bitcoin mining
Bitcoin mining can be a divisive topic, with many people concerned about the environmental impact it can have. Because Bitcoin has a proof of work consensus mechanism, in order to create or mint a new Bitcoin, computers must solve mathematical equations of increasing complexity.
As the overall supply of Bitcoin decreases, the equations become more complex and therefore require more computational energy to solve.