Riot Blockchain Announces Plans to Move NY Miners to Lone Star State

by · July 7, 2022

Crypto mining company Riot Blockchain said it has begun relocating rigs from its New York computer facility, with the majority intending to end up in central Texas.

In an announcement Wednesday, Riot said it has transferred some of its mining rigs from a plant in Massena, New York – called Coinmint – as part of an effort to reduce the company’s operating costs through lower electricity costs and eliminate “all third-party hosting fees.” The company said it planned to “ship the rest of its S19 miner fleet” at Coinmint to Rio’s Whinstone plant in Rockdale, Texas in July.

The move comes in the middle of many parts of Texas that experience temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and the need for electricity is increasing for air conditioning to keep residents cool. Data from the state’s primary energy provider, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, estimates that prices for its southern hub – which will include Riot’s facilities in Rockdale – will peak at $ 95.94 per MW per hour over the next 24 hours. However, some reports suggest that energy production from wind and solar has helped reduce costs amid growing power needs.

Rio’s operations in Texas apparently included preparations for the state’s heatwave. The company reported that construction of two air-cooled buildings is underway, one completed and another where “initial deployments of miners have begun” when the company completed some electrical work.

CEO Jason Les said the company will reduce energy consumption this summer as part of an ERCOT program aimed at meeting demand for Texas’ power grid. The Cointelegraph reported in February that Riot shut down 99% of state operations in anticipation of a possible severe winter storm that requires high energy needs – low temperatures and heavy snowfall were behind many parts of the state being without power for several days in February 2021.

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The crypto-mining company reported that it had produced 421 Bitcoin (BTC) in June, but sold 300 BTC for $ 6.2 million, and Riot had approximately 6,654 coins per Thursday. The company reported that there were 42,455 miners in the fleet producing a hash speed of 4.4 exahashes per second (EH / s), but planned to have a capacity of 12.5 EH / s after the deployment of 115,450 Antminer rigs by January 2023