2 Cents per Kilowatt Hour: Bitfarms to Launch a 210 MW Bitcoin Mining Operation in Argentina

The Canadian publicly traded bitcoin mining company Bitfarms has announced a deal that will see the company developing a 210 megawatt (MW) mining farm in Argentina. Bitfarms says that the company was able to secure a low electricity rate at $0.02 per kWh during the contractual period.

Argentine-Based Bitcoin Mining Facility Aims to Acquire 210 MW of Power

The company Bitfarms (TSXV:BITF, OTC:BFARF) has announced the firm is expanding to South America, as it has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding in order to build a 210 MW bitcoin mining facility.

Bitfarms says the purchase agreement started back in October 2020 and initially the farm would be around 60 MW. However, since then the agreement has been “significantly enhanced,” as the power purchase agreement with a utility-grade private power producer in Argentina will allow the firm to “draw up to 210 MW of electricity at its discretion.”

Bitfarms also details that the warmer climate in Argentina helps the company mine bitcoin without depending on costly liquid immersion cooling techniques. The company also says that the firm will relocate a number of bitcoin miners to the Argentinean facility. During the first week of March, Bitfarms announced the acquisition of 48,000 next-generation bitcoin miners.

“Bitfarms plans to relocate a substantial number of its older miners to the new data centre. While the older miners are less efficient than the new miners, the low cost of electrical power and the proven reliability of these miners will extend their economic life,” the company’s announcement details. “This strategy will allow our older miners to continue to be accretive to cash flow from operations and to contribute to Bitfarms’ overall corporate hashrate.”

Bitfarms Finds Break-Even Costs in Argentina Is 45% Cheaper Than Québec

Further, the company did a comparison to find out the break-even cost to mine BTC in Québec in contrast to mining in Argentina. The company estimates that the Argentinean facility would give the firm a “45% savings.”

Mining bitcoin in South America with 210 MW of low-cost power will help the company achieve an 8 exahash per second (EH/s) target for Q4 2022. “It is also intended to provide geographic production diversification to reduce risk and serve as an effective hedge for Bitfarms against the next halving event in 2024,” Bitfarms’ announcement emphasized.

The company already has operations in Cowansville, Farnham, Magog, Saint-Hyacinthe, and Sherbrooke, Québec. Bitfarms plans to expand Sherbrooke operations 1&2 to an additional four expansions, Cowansville will see a second, Saint-Hyacinthe will see another, and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, a city in eastern Montérégie will see a 5 MW facility.