Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Williston: Site Of World's Largest Data Center? Very Likely -- January 26, 2022

Updates

February 15, 2022: COP providing natural gas for ND bit-miner. Link here.

January 28, 2022: is crypto mining driving up power costs for US consumers? Link to Tsvetana Paraskova. We may need to re-visit this story in 2025.

Original Post 

Link here.

  • Atlas Power Data Center to partner with FX Solutions Inc
  • $1.9 billion -- billion -- cryptocurrency factory
  • construction has already begun west of Williston
  • will be one of the world's largest data centers
  • ND has two things these folks need:
    • redundant power supply; and,
    • speed to market
  • first phase
    • eight buildings
    • each building: 15 megawatts
    • 120 megawatts total
  • second phase:
    • 20-megawatt buildings
    • 6 buildings
  • total with first and second phases: 240 megawatts
  • milestones
    • goal: 240 MW by 4Q22
    • then: 500 MW by 2Q23
    • finally: 700 MW 4Q23
  • after 700 MW, company may come back to Mountrail Williams and Basin Electric to ask for more energy, depending on demand for their services
  • second such facility for Atlas Power
    • first was in Butte, MT
  • goal: to create the world's largest cryptocurrency company with a carbon-neutral footprint
    • for perspective: the new airport -- $300 million
    • the $2.8 billion Cerilon plant in Trenton, just a few miles southwest of Williston
    • the gas-to-liquid plant, see this post;

Background:

  • cryptocurrency data centers are usually in the range of one to five MW facilities; link here;
  • RWB: consulting engineers designing cryptocurrency facilities  from 1MW to 700 MW in size; link here;
  • two of the biggest bitcoin mining companies in Rockdale, TX; link here.
    • Bitdeer
    • Riot Blockchain: Whinstone mine --
      • biggest in North America
      • goal: 750 MW
      • to put that in perspective, downtown Dallas uses just 200 MW
      • Riot Whinstone: electricity demand similar to downtown Dallas + Manhattan

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