Sustainability

Renewable power, cold air, and honest limits.

The energy model is hydro in a cold climate, with a possible UK path that would use surplus renewable electricity. We separate what we can say from what is still being assessed.

What we can say, and what is still open

What we can say now

The operation is being designed to mine Zcash, which is a proof-of-work network.
The lead geography is northern Norway, because of hydroelectric power and a cold climate.
A UK site is only of interest where it could use surplus renewable electricity.
Cold air can reduce mechanical cooling. It does not remove the need for an airflow design.

Still being assessed

The site, the municipality, and any power partner. [PLACEHOLDER — site, plot or municipality, only with agreement to name it]
Whether a UK site is viable. [PLACEHOLDER — status of any UK site conversation]
The measured carbon account of construction, of the machines, and of the electricity that is actually contracted.
Machine models and quantities, which stay unpublished until they are cleared.

Hydro in Norway

Norway's electricity system is dominated by hydroelectric plant. That is a low-carbon way to generate power, and it is the reason a mining load there can be matched to renewable supply. A particular site still needs a connection, a contract, and permission to build. None of those is claimed here.

Hydro is not impact-free. Reservoirs, transmission lines, and construction all have effects. We will describe the power we contract once there is a contract to describe. [PLACEHOLDER — power contract status]

What a cold climate changes

Heat is the main by-product of a mining hall. If the air outside is cold for much of the year, more of that heat can be rejected without mechanical chillers, and less electricity is spent on cooling. The work of mining still uses the power the machines draw. Cold air changes the overhead. It does not make the load small.

A lower cooling load is not the same thing as a measured carbon saving. We will not treat the weather as a carbon account.

Possible UK sites and surplus power

Surplus renewable power means electricity from wind, solar, or other renewable plant that the grid cannot use at the moment it is generated. A UK site would only be worth pursuing where that kind of supply, a connection, and planning permission can be put together.

It is a possibility under assessment, not the lead plan, and no UK site has been selected for publication. The locations page says where the search stands.

Claims we will not make

We will not describe the operation as 100% green, carbon neutral, or carbon negative unless that has been measured and can be shown. Construction, machine manufacture, and the electricity that is actually bought all sit in that account. Until the account exists, the honest statement is the one above: the design aims at renewable power and a cold climate, and several material facts are still open.

How the hall itself is put together is on the operation page.