thecoinrise.com
Rockdale town in Milam County, Texas, United States has recently come alive as a result of its cheap electricity, making the town a potential business destination for many Bitcoin miners.
Now, two major mining firms have be battling it out for the cheap electricity in Rockdale town of Texas. They are: Bitdeer, the mining firm created from Chinese giant Bitmain, and Riot Blockchain, one of the foremost publicly traded Bitcoin mining firms in the United States. Both mining firms have been operating out of a former aluminium smelting facility in the town.
The aluminium smelting facility was at a time, the largest in the world, up until when the company in charge Alcoa, started folding up in 2008.
Speaking about the facility, the president of the Texas Blockchain Council, Lee Bratcher believes that the energy capacity of the facility has been going to waste since the departure of Alcoa. But now that the miners have set up shop, they might maximize the plant’s energy potential.
Interestingly, Rockdale town is quite a tiny rural one, being home to just 5,600 people. This shows even more of the benefits that most industrial-scale miners look for in setting up.
Benefits of Mining in Rockdale Town
The small town is home to crypto-friendly politicians, meaning little or no restrictions. There are very large plots of land hosting abandoned industrial facilities like Alcoa’s previously mentioned. Finally, and with all thanks to Texas’ deregulated market, electricity prices are extremely cheap.
In fact, according to Rockdale Mayor John King, the relationship between local grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), and the miners is a mutually beneficial one. He says that miners are only consuming electricity power that would have otherwise been wasted. In addition, the Mayor says the miners can easily shut down operations immediately power is needed elsewhere.
As reported by TheCoinrise on October 7, Riot has more than tripled its Bitcoin production this year.
Peesently, Riot estimates that it is producing over 500 BTC per month from its facility in Rockdale town. By the going rates, that’s about $30 million per month. Riot also confirms that the site hosts 100,000 mining rigs.
Texan lawmakers are pushing for a further expansion in the state’s Bitcoin mining embrace, with Senator Ted Cruz describing mining as a means to capture natural gas that the state currently flares.