The bitcoin miner-turned-energy trader increased sales selling electricity back to the Texas grid as demand for air conditioning boomed in summer heat.
The falling bitcoin price has pressured the mining industry
A record-breaking US heatwave helped homegrown bitcoin miner Iris Energy earn $US7 million in profit last month, as it sold contracted electricity back to the Texas grid on surging demand for air conditioners in the US’ second-largest state.On Wednesday, Texas’ grid operator declared emergency settings to ward-off rolling blackouts, prompting energy-intensive bitcoin miners to sell power back to the market.
Iris Energy’s co-founder and former Macquarie banker Daniel Roberts said the Nasdaq-listed miner turned energy trader was in effect paid around $US28,000 per bitcoin mined in August, after it adjusted for the difference between what it paid for forward contracted electricity, and what it earned selling it last month.
“When bitcoin mining is profitable and it makes sense to utilise that power for mining we do it,” Mr Roberts said. “But equally when wind, solar, and weather events cause power prices to go up because other people need that power more than we do, we just sell it to them. “There’s not really a regulator involved, it’s just an open market like AEMO in Australia, it’s dynamic pricing every 15 minutes and depending what the price is, if the market wants the power back, we give it to them.”Iris earned $US11.5 million from bitcoin and energy sales over August, with 410 bitcoin mined, incurring an energy bill of $US4.3 million. For the second quarter of financial 2023 it posted an operating loss of $US8 million on sales of $US13.8 million.
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