Crypto mining firm Argo Blockchain’s plans to open a data center in West Texas are likely nearing completion following a groundbreaking ceremony.
In a Thursday announcement on Twitter, Argo said what expects to begin mining operations at its Helios facility in Dickens County, Texas, beginning next week. The announcement came more than a year after the mining company purchased a 320-acre piece of land to build the facility, beginning construction of the 200-megawatt data center in July 2021.
We are thrilled to announce the energization and opening of Helios, our flagship Bitcoin mining facility in Dickens County, Texas! ⚡⚡⚡
Thanks to everyone who helped to make this possible.
Yeeeeeehaw! #ARB $ARBK pic.twitter.com/gIUIfv5z2o
—Argo (@ArgoBlockchain) May 5, 2022
We are thrilled to announce the energization and opening of Helios, our flagship Bitcoin mining facility in Dickens County, Texas! ⚡⚡⚡
Thanks to everyone who helped make this possible.
Yeeeeehaw!
Argo CEO Peter Wall told Cointelegraph that the facility was built in Dickens County due to access to renewable energy sources in the company’s goal to “mine Bitcoin as green as possible.” As of August 2021, the company said its cryptocurrency operations had become “climate positive” for some greenhouse gas emissions classifications, with a plan to eventually become carbon neutral.
“Much [de la energía disponible] It’s kind of stranded, meaning there’s not a lot of local demand or local load to use that power, so we felt this was a strong opportunity to help stabilize the grid,” Wall said.
The mining facility will be powered by 20,000 Bitmain S19J Pro rigs, which, according to Argo, will be installed and commissioned in stages between May and October. Argo’s initial power capacity in the data center will be 200 MW, with access to another 600 MW “in the next few years.” The company expects a hash rate of 5.5 exahs per second by the end of 2022, with additional power capacity to be introduced later producing 20 EH/s.
Estimates of the total cost of the data center have ranged from $1.5 billion to $2 billion, according to a regulatory filing from Argo in November 2021. The mining firm also secured a $25 million loan deal from Galaxy Digital LP in September 2021 using its Bitcoin (BTC) as collateral and said it would finance part of the facility with a $57.5 million senior bond offering.
Texas has become something of an enclave for cryptocurrency miners looking to set up shop, possibly due to its cheap electricity and mining-friendly regulations. In April, the city of Fort Worth launched a pilot program to mine BTC using three Antminer S9 rigs in the city hall building.
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