Texas crypto miner operator Layer1 Technologies has been able to sell back its power supply for 8X the price.
According to a Sept. 1 Bloomberg report, Layer1 reported nearly 700% profits from selling excess electricity from its ‘Bitcoin Batteries’ – large-scale energy storage systems used on the firm’s crypto farms in Texas.
When the power demand for air conditioning is highest in Texas — where it’s regularly above 37 degrees Celsius (100 in Fahrenheit) in the summer — Layer1 reduces or stops crypto mining as needed to send any unused power back onto the grid during the day. The excess heat coupled with little-to-no power from wind farms on certain days hasallowed Layer1 to reap up to 700% in profits, by taking advantage of power prices in the area exceeding $200 per megawatt-hour.
“We’re getting paid to produce Bitcoins,” said Layer1 co-founder and CEO Alexander Liegl.
Uniquely positioned in west Texas, where wind farms supply more than 15% power to the entire state — the highest proportion in the country — Bitcoin (BTC) miners like Layer1 have a viable alternative business as power plants.
It’s all part of the plan: Liegl stated earlier this year that Layer1 would be focusing on selling electricity during the summer months rather than crypto mining. The mining rigs are not cooled by air, but rather suspended in a non-conductive liquid.
Layer1’s foray into crypto mining is part of its overarching plan to return 30% of Bitcoin’s total hashrate power back to the U.S. by 2022. Liegl says the company will soon install 50 containers near Midland, capable of producing 100 megawatts of electricity and mining 27 BTC every day, or more than $320,000 worth at the time of writing.