A startup receives money for its willingness to share electricity at any time: due to the heat in the state, there are often interruptions.
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The cryptocurrency startup Layer1, in which Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal, invested, started making money on possible equipment downtime, Forbes writes.
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In 2019, the company raised $ 50 million and bought an electrical substation in Texas so as not to depend on suppliers. This state of startup chose because of cheap electricity, the publication indicates: Texas is the largest owner of wind farms in the United States.
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In the summer, Texas power systems are under increased pressure because residents are actively using air conditioners: for about half days a year, temperatures here reach 32 ° C. In 2020, there were already days when the air warmed up to 37.7 ° C, the publication notes.
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In 2019, wholesale sales of electricity in the grid, which is managed by the Texas Reliability Board for Power Supply, rose from $ 120 per MWh to $ 9,000 per MWh.
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Connecting the Layer1 power plant to a common power system in the heat would solve the problem of increased demand, Forbes notes. Therefore, the startup entered into an agreement on “response to demand”, according to which the company is obliged, if necessary, to turn off all of its mining equipment.
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In exchange, authorities pay companies $ 19 per MWh, or about $ 17 million per year. Although the situation with congestion during the pandemic is unlikely, the use of the Layer1 power plant is cheaper than the construction of a new energy facility, the magazine points out.
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Startup CEO Alex Liegl calls mining “the conversion of electricity into money.” According to Liegl, mining one bitcoin costs him $ 1,000. According to Coindesk at 20:50 Moscow time, the Bitcoin exchange rate is $ 9,200 per coin.
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