Blockchain Company Soluna To Build A 900MW Wind Farm In Morocco To Power Its Facility

By Dmitriy

BTC Wires: Soluna, a blockchain firm is planning to build a wind farm with a capacity of 900 megawatts. John Belizaire, a top executive of Soluna stated that the farm will fuel a Dakhla computing center and the Western Saharan area controlled by Morocco. The project will start in 2019 and take around a year to work on the primary off-grid stage. There is also a possibility that the site maybe be eventually linked up to the national grid, Belizaire added.

The firm has committed to the Moroccan government that it hopes to finish the site construction over 5 years, while spending about 1.4-2.5 billion dollars. It will be investing around $100 million in the primary stage, which is expected to generate around 36 megawatts. Bitcoin is generated or mined by using a computer which can enable the miner to solve cryptographic problems or crack  the blockchain network that lies at the core of the cryptocurrency. For this, one needs continuous and massive power supplies. Therefore it is usually conducted in large warehouses with huge computers in the cooler climes which makes sure it is easier and cheaper to handle the heat that is generated as a result of this process.

According to cypto analysis platform Digiconomist, bitcoin mining requires roughly 71 terawatt hours a year, which is about 10% of the energy usage of China,the most populated country in the world. Private equity group Brookstone is Soluna’s backer and the firm is expected to look for private equity as well institutional investors with deep pockets.

The initiative requires about 37000 acres of land and will operate in of the most windy areas of the world. This will make sure that the company can have sustainable energy of its own to power the large scale blockchain mining and computing center it has. The Moroccan government has not permitted the use of cryptocurrencies in the country and Belizaire has assured that they would comply with the government’s directives to not carry out crypto transactions.

The center will provide computing services to blockchain networks that allow foreign entities to use their calculation capacities in return for foreign currency.

Morocco has seen quite a lot of investment in the renewable resources sector, especially in solar and wind power taking it closer to the fulfillment of its aim to generate 52% of its total energy in sustainable ways.