Today, CBC reported that three natural gas-producing sites in southern Alberta could host “up to one million” bitcoin mining machines. In fact, this could be the result of a relocation process of these assets from China. Particularly, this relocation comes from a deal proposed by Nevada-based Black Rock Petroleum Company.
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Indeed, and it is worth noting, the announcement occurs amid Beijing’s ongoing crackdown on cryptocurrency production and trading.
More about the deal in Alberta
Worth noting, Black Rock Petroleum did not announce the timeline for the deal. However, the contract term for using the natural gas sites is 24 months; this, according to a press release from the company.
In fact, earlier this year, Chinese authorities cracked down on bitcoin mining due to apparent environmental concerns and other issues. Therefore, the government concluded ordering miners to shut down.
Thus, entering Alberta would represent a significant chunk of China’s prior total mining capacity by up to one million mining machines or rigs.
In this sense, Alex de Vries, a researcher, an economist who runs the cryptocurrency analytics website Digiconomist, told CBC that; “in China, they were using hydroelectric power for at least part of the year; and then the rest of the year they would be using Chinese coal, instead.”
Outlook
However, “if they’re coming to Alberta,” continued de Vries, “and start running on natural gas all year round; it’s not improving the situation of this network; which indeed is already responsible for more CO2 emissions than we are saving with all-electric vehicles around the world combined.”
According to de Vries, it’s difficult to definitively determine how many computers make up the global bitcoin mining network. In fact, he currently estimates that number at around three million.
Thus, and in other words, the one million machines supposedly destined for Alberta could represent around a third of global mining capacity.
Lastly, and it is worth noting, Black Rock Petroleum Company said in a release that the first 200,000 mining units would be hosted at the Quirk Creek gas plant; located explicitly near the southwestern hamlet of Millarville, Alta.
