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Marathon Digital Holdings announces hydro powered bitcoin mining project in Paraguay

Marathon Digital Holdings announces hydro powered bitcoin mining project in Paraguay

Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. has launched its second international deployment with a 27 MW bitcoin mining project in Paraguay that is completely powered by renewable, hydro energy.

The first miners are onsite and being prepared for installation and energization, according to a release.

On Oct. 16, 2023, Marathon entered into an agreement with Penguin Infrastructure Holding, whose mission is to transform energy into human potential in Paraguay, to launch a bitcoin mining project near Paraguay’s Itaipu Dam. The hydroelectric powerhouse at Itaipu Dam has an installed generation capacity of 14 GW and is the second largest hydroelectric plant in the world by annual production.

This bitcoin project, which is structured as a joint venture, will be built out in two stages. The first stage will use about 7 MW to power about 0.3 EH/s of Marathon’s miners and is expected to be energized in November. The second phase will use about 20 MW to power about 0.8 EH/s of Marathon’s miners and is expected to come online in 2024.

“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 chief executive officer. “Paraguay produces approximately 32 terawatt hours of surplus energy per year, 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 case study for the value Bitcoin mining can bring to regions with excess power.”

The Itaipu dam and hydroelectric project on the Parana River is operated by Itaipu Binacional in Paraguay and Brazil.