Business
Marathon Digital Holdings Continues International Expansion with 100% Renewably Powered Bitcoin Mining Project in Paraguay
1.1 EH/s To Be Powered by 27 MW of Hydro Energy near Itaipu Dam Fort Lauderdale, FL, Nov. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc.
About this update from Mara Holdings, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"1.1 EH/s To Be Powered by 27 MW of Hydro Energy near Itaipu Dam Fort Lauderdale, FL, Nov. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) (\"Marathon\" or \"Company\"), a leader in supporting and securing the Bitcoin ecosystem, has launched its second international deployment with a 27 megawatt Bitcoin mining project in Paraguay that is completely powered by renewable, hydro energy. The first miners are onsite and currently being prepared for installation and energization. On October 16, 2023, Marathon entered into an agreement with Penguin Infrastructure Holding (“Penguin Group”), whose mission is to transform energy into human potential in Paraguay, to launch a Bitcoin mining project near Paraguay’s Itaipu Dam. Itaipu Dam has an installed generation capacity of 14 gigawatts and is the second largest hydroelectric dam in the world by annual production.1 This project, which is structured as a joint venture, will be built out in two stages. The first stage will utilize approximately seven megawatts to power approximately 0.3 EH/s of Marathon’s miners and is expected to be energized in November. The second phase will utilize approximately 20 megawatts to power approximately 0.8 EH/s of Marathon’s miners and is expected to come online in 2024. Over the coming months, Marathon will be working with Penguin Group to bring the full 1.1 EH/s online. “After proving that we can successfully deploy internationally with our project in Abu Dhabi, we are continuing to expand into new markets with excess or stranded energy,” said Fred Thiel, Marathon’s chairman and CEO. “This project is our second international deployment and marks our first into Latin America. “Paraguay produces approximately 32 terawatt hours of surplus energy per year,2 which results in lower productivity for the utility and for the country. Bitcoin miners, like Marathon, have the unique ability to co-locate at sources of power that are producing excess energy, like the Itaipu Dam in Paraguay. For Marathon, such deployments provide us with the opportunity to reduce our power costs and increase our mix of sustainable energy. For utilities and countries with excess power, we can help them monetize their excess energy without having to build expensive transmission lines and additional infrastructure. We believe this project may serve as an excellent ...