A container with the Bitcoin miners got deployed in the electrical installation. The plant has an installed capacity to generate up to 109 MW of energy.
The mining of Bitcoin (BTC) with geothermal energy from volcanoes is now a reality in El Salvador. President Nayib Bukele revealed, this Tuesday, September 28, a video showing the installation of a container with dozens of ASIC equipment in the Berlin geothermal field, in Usulután.
In a statement spread through Twitter, the leader only limited himself to saying first steps. The number of miners arranged by the Salvadoran government, the model of the equipment, or the overall processing capacity they currently have remains unclear.
The installation of Bitcoin miners in El Salvador and the implementation of geothermal energy from volcanoes have been two of Bukele’s goals to encourage digital mining.
The first president is a faithful believer in the potential of bitcoin as a tool to attract investments, improve the economy of his country, and minimize the commissions for sending remittances.
On the other hand, it is vital to consider that the Berlin geothermal field, in the department of Usulután, has a maximum capacity of about 109 MW if it is working at 100%. However, a Salvadoran electrical engineer explained that the installation is not currently operating at its maximum capacity.
Bitcoin Mining in El Salvador
President Bukele revealed that his country would not only recognize bitcoin as legal tender, it would also boost the mining of BTC. For this activity, the ruler assured that El Salvador would apply geothermal energy from its volcanoes, a fact that attracted international media attention.
The Central American nation has two fields that exploit this type of energy; Berlin and that of the geothermal power plant of Ahuachapán, in the west of the country. This last plant has a maximum capacity of 95 MW, which would help supply at least 700,000 Salvadorans.
According to the message shared by Bukele, there would be new announcements related to the installation of more miners. The plan would only use renewable energy and not use other types of energy sources for Bitcoin mining.
Renewable Energy to Mine Bitcoin
A study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), published in September 2018, affirms that the sole dependence on renewable energies is an expensive method to clean the energy grid.
This statement goes against the opinion of various scientists that highlight elements such as wind and solar power as sources that could satisfy most of the electricity demand.
Both forms of energy are intermittent since neither the sun nor the wind is always available. This unavailability would mean an increase in storage batteries to satisfy the continuous demand for electricity. This energy demand, in turn, would increase costs.
Today many cryptocurrency miners are leading their operations with renewable energy in places for them to do it without cooling systems.
A part of the crypto mining sector is trying to approach sustainability. These steps to reach sustainability also imply a commitment to turn down opinion matrices against Bitcoin and its impact on the environment.
By: Jenson Nuñez
