Salem township is planning to build a zero-carbon Bitcoin mining plant. However, township supervisors are more interested in dollars.
This industry is unique in that it comes to a town with a majority of its jobs done electronically.
The public meeting in the administration building on Tuesday got heated. Supervisors considered the potential benefits.
Talen energy, the company that owns Susquehanna’s nuclear power plant in Salem township, announced last week plans to build a campus for digital infrastructure next to the plant.
Phase 1 will include a Bitcoin mining facility of 180 megawatts and data centers that are powered directly by the two nuclear reactors at Susquehanna.
“Amazon, Google and all the cloud computing applications..these are the potential customers, clients that we will have at the data center buildings. The coin mining side will have computers located again in these buildings, and those computers will run computations to trigger and generate coins’, explained Dustin Wertheimer (VP and Division CFO Talen Cumulus) and Susquehanna Date Center.
Bitcoin uses encryption techniques for monetary unit creation and funds transfer verification. This process is known as Bitcoin mining. It’s performed on extremely sophisticated computers.
According to a release by Talen Energy, their joint venture with Terawulf, a Bitcoin mining company, is expected to invest approximately 400 million in phase 1.
“Data center operators want power that is low-cost, reliable, and carbon-free. Wertheimer stated that connecting to our nuclear power station gives them all three.
What will Salem Township get from it? Some people say it is not enough.
Talen is currently in negotiations with the township about the host agreement. Supervisors discussed an offer to the township of 25 thousand dollars per year at Tuesday’s public meeting. Supervisors considered making a counter-offer, asking for 250 000 instead.
This is a cost-effective way to host it. This is absurd and they slapping your face with those 25 thousand? You’re not being unreasonable! At the township meeting, a member of public said: “Come on!
They realized that they needed more information, especially about projected profits which are likely to be much higher than they had thought.
“We discussed a billion-dollar project. They need to be able to provide services for the community, Malcolm Plevyak, Vice Chairman of Salem Township Board of Supervisors.
“All this new information now comes to light. Frede Fransen of Salem Township, a supervisor, said that it makes it possible to make a difference in some things.
It is expected that the facility will be operational by mid-2022. The township has not yet granted permission to begin construction.
The township is currently reviewing the project and will approve it. A conditional use hearing is scheduled for August 31st.