Interesting results were summed up by a small hydroelectric power plant in Mechaniqueville, New York. It turned out to be three times more profitable to mine bitcoins using the generated energy than to sell it.
The Mechaniqueville hydroelectric power plant is one of the oldest in the United States, built in 1897. Then it was mothballed, and in 1986 its activity resumed. According to the CEO of Albany Engineering Corp (AEC), which owns the station, mining cryptocurrencies is much more profitable than selling electricity.
“I think this is the oldest operating station in the world for generating electricity from renewable sources. We can actually make more money by mining bitcoin than by selling electricity to the national grid, ”said Jim Besha Sr.
At the same time, the CEO of AEC does not believe in the long-term potential of bitcoin, so the company immediately gets rid of all the mined bitcoins. Besha senior lamented that using electricity for such useless activities as mining, he dislikes. However, the fight against the national grid to raise tariffs for electricity sold has come to nothing, so he is looking for new ways to make a profit.
The point is that the AEC must sell electricity to the national grid at discounted prices – this was a condition in order to restore the hydropower plant in Mechanicville. However, even if there were no discounts, BTC mining is still much more profitable than selling electricity.
Recall that in June, the income of BTC and ETH miners decreased by 42% and 53%, respectively. This was influenced by the general drop in the cryptocurrency market, as well as regulatory pressure on the industry.
