CleanSpark, a bitcoin miner, has acquired five data centers in rural Georgia for $25.8 million in cash, according to a company news release.
The company, which describes itself as “America’s Bitcoin Miner,” owns about 300 megawatts of infrastructure in Georgia, but this will grow to 400 with its latest acquisition.
The acquisition represents the growing electric demand coming to Georgia and the Southeast as more data centers are expanding and new facilities are being announced in the state. Last month, Gov. Brian Kemp vetoed a bill that would have suspended tax incentives for new data centers.
Critics of data centers say they pose concerns due to their strain on the electric grid and their large consumption of water.
CleanSpark’s acquisition will add about 60 megawatts of infrastructure. The five facilities range from 8 to 15 megawatts and are part of interruptible-load power purchase agreements.
“Load balancing is a unique benefit that bitcoin miners provide local power grids because of their ability to curtail energy use based on local demand, especially during rare times of unusually high demand on the grid, such as very cold and extremely hot weather,” the company said in the news release.
Southern Co. CEO Chris Womack said last month that data center companies have been asking the utility if it has power prior to making its decisions on where to locate. He also said earlier this year that due to growing digital demand, the utility will need to expand its power generation on all fronts and called for customers to be more efficient in their energy usage.
Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern Co., plans to meet the growing demand in the state by expanding its natural gas investments, solar and storage sites, and putting in place new power purchase agreements. Kemp is interested in potentially adding more nuclear power to the grid.
CleanSpark’s new sites in Georgia are part of the company’s growth plans and load balancing for the cities it works with. They also help the company increase its computational power for bitcoin mining.
The company also operates sites in Mississippi, colocation machines in New York and has announced new locations in Wyoming.
“Our acquisition of these five new mining sites marks a significant milestone in our strategic growth plan and represents the leading edge of nearly 1 gigawatt of new opportunities being analyzed by our teams,” said Zach Bradford, CEO of CleanSpark.
