Crypto Miner Will Use Batteries to Ease Strain on Texas Grid

(Bloomberg) — Lancium Inc., which develops cryptocurrency infrastructure, signed a deal with a leading Texas battery storage provider that will help Bitcoin miners use more renewable energy and reduce stress on the state’s grid. 

A unit of Broad Reach Power LLC will supply power for Lancium’s Fort Stockton 25 megawatt facility in West Texas, according to a statement. Renewables are projected to supply about 30% of the state’s grid, and the aim is to exceed that level at the site with the use of excess wind and solar energy stored in batteries, according to to the firm backed by Apollo Global Management and commodity merchant Mercuria Energy. 

“Renewable integration is truly key to them if they want to get to truly net zero,” Doug Moorehead, chief operations officer at Broad Reach, said in a telephone interview. 

The deal is reportedly the first of its kind, using utility-scale battery storage services to help miners achieve energy flexibility. Crypto miners flooding into Texas have been under scrutiny for significantly increasing electricity demand on a grid that proved fragile last year during a deadly winter storm that triggered blackouts. Miners have promised to be good citizens by using more renewables, but have made few guarantees. 

The first phase of Lancium’s planned facility will be dedicated to crypto miners and eventually will also be home to data centers. CleanSpark Inc. signed an agreement to bring online 200 megawatts of Bitcoin mining capacity at the Lancium facility by spring of 2023 with the option to add another 300 megawatts.