Bitcoin miners are increasingly looking towards natural gas to power their operations cheaply and efficiently.
Hilcorp has announced a pilot project to test the feasibility of using natural gas from Alaska’s North Slope oil and gas fields to power a Bitcoin mining operation.
Hilcorp will partner with TA Infrastructure, a Texas-based developer, to place a modular Bitcoin mining operation within a shipping container in its Endicott gas field.
The project will run for four years, with a start date slated for this month. TA intends to install Bitcoin miners on the site with a collective capacity of 1.4MW.
According to the application and a public notice posted by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, power will come from natural gas using Hilcorp’s existing generators.
“The goal of this pilot project is to demonstrate the ability to operate computers and associated data centre infrastructure in the unique environment of the North Slope, as well as identify any logistical and operational challenges that a larger project might present,” the application stated.
The state’s commissioner of natural resources, John Boyle, said in a prepared statement that Governor Mike Dunleavy’s administration is reviewing TA Infrastructure’s permit application.
“We are very encouraged that companies are pursuing opportunities like this in Alaska,” he said. “And the Department of Natural Resources hopes to continue to see more opportunities for computing and data centre development using Alaska’s abundant resources.”
Bitcoin miners are increasingly looking towards natural gas to power their operations cheaply and efficiently, reflected in several deals across the US market in recent months.
This week, AXP Energy signed a binding Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with Blackhart to sell natural gas to power modular crypto mine data centres in Colorado.
Earlier this month, Hyperscale Data launched a pilot project to explore the feasibility of Bitcoin mining powered by natural gas turbines operated by an undisclosed project partner.
In October, MARA launched a 25MW micro data centre operation across oil wellheads in Texas and North Dakota, powered exclusively by excess natural gas.
Critics have pushed against the move, arguing that despite reducing gas flaring levels, the practice still contributes to CO2 emissions.
In addition, there is broader criticism of Bitcoin mining’s overall sustainability. The US Energy Information Administration estimates that Bitcoin mining in the United States consumes between 0.6 percent and 2.3 percent of the country’s total electricity use yearly.
Governor Dunleavy last month spoke of his desire to bring more data centres to Alaska.
