A historic power plant in Mechanicville, New York has decided to switch to mining Bitcoin as a more profitable pursuit in addition to generating electricity.
According to a report by The Albany Times Union, a hydroelectric plant built in 1897 and operated by Albany Engineering Corp., is using a portion of the power it produces to mine Bitcoin.
Albany Engineering Corp. CEO Jim Besha called the hydroelectric plant the “oldest renewable energy facility in the world” to still be running. He told the news outlet it was more profitable to mine Bitcoin than sell electricity through the power grid.
Besha said:
[We] can actually make more money with bitcoin than selling the electricity to National Grid.
Besha called the hydroelectric plant the “best” form of Bitcoin mining due to the use of renewable energy. He said the plant was mining Bitcoin “on the side” as an experiment and was in the process of buying “used servers.”
The CEO explained the company was selling BTC as it was mined in order to avoid the negative volatility of the cryptoasset markets. According to the report, Besha said he was skeptical of Bitcoin as a “long-term investment” and is using the plant’s mining capabilities to bring in short-term cash.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed by the author, or any people mentioned in this article, are for informational purposes only, and they do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading cryptoassets comes with a risk of financial loss.
