Trend Watch: Hydro plant to be fully dedicated power source for cryptocurrency mining

A hydroelectric facility in New York State is being repowered specifically to serve as a fully-dedicated source of power for a new co-located cryptocurrency mining farm.

The 1-MW Valatie Falls project was originally built in 1983 and was purchased by Valatie Falls Hydro LLC in March 2018, using debt financing provided by Digital Power Lending, a subsidiary of DPW Holdings Inc.

Super Crypto Mining, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DPW, is building and operating the cryptocurrency mining farm.

“Our successful repurposing of Valatie Falls dam to provide clean, low-cost, renewable power to Super Crypto’s future co-located mining farm is another important step in our strategy to create an economically viable, self-sustaining cryptocurrency mining business,” said Milton “Todd” Ault, III, DPW Holdings’ chief executive officer and chairman. With electricity being “by far the largest operational cost factor,” Ault said the company was able to “upgrade and retrofit the Valatie Falls dam for this exciting new phase of its long-lived operation.”

DPW says the hydro plant will become operational during the fourth quarter of 2018.

An internet search reveals that Valatie Falls hydro may have been originally owned and/or developed by French River Land Company. Valatie Falls is also known as Beaver Kill Falls.

Click here for news on more rehabilitation, repowering and upgrade work.

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