Atlas Taps Compute North to Expand ESG-Focused Bitcoin Mining

Atlas Mining, which aims to be 100% carbon-free, signed a 100-megawatt “colocation capacity” deal with Compute North to expand its U.S. mining operations, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

All of the mining machines will be ASICs and will only mine bitcoin, according to a statement emailed to CoinDesk. Recently, as part of its expansion plans, Atlas also signed a deal with Core Scientific in October to host new bitcoin miners.

With the environmental impact of crypto mining activities in the forefront of many conversations, most miners are trying to source more renewable energy to power their operations.

“To achieve sustainable growth in adherence to its ESG commitments, Atlas is carrying out a mass adoption of renewable energy, with a long-term goal to be 100% carbon-free,” Atlas Chairman Raymond Yuan said in a statement.

Compute North, which works to build and operate at locations where the majority of the energy provided is renewable, will power Atlas’ mining rigs via electrical grids, where a wide variety of fuel sources will be used, the data centers operator said in an email statement to CoinDesk.

“We also work with customers, like Atlas, to enhance their ESG program by helping to provide options for things like tax equity and renewable energy certificates (RECs) to address this challenge and to demonstrate their commitment to investing in renewable energy,” the Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based firm said in the emailed statement.

The decision to expand in the U.S. comes as more miners are migrating their operations to North America following China’s sweeping crypto ban. In fact, recently the U.S. has taken the top spot in bitcoin mining, and the trend is expected to continue due to geopolitical certainty, access to cheap power and infrastructure.

Atlas has contracted more than 400 megawatts of infrastructure capacity with local partners in different regions and plans to add 1 gigawatt of capacity in the next 18 months, according to the statement. To date, the miner has purchased more than 200,000 mining rigs and aims to continue to acquire more over the next few years, the miner added.

Compute North’s colocation service entails providing a data center to host mining equipment. The company currently operates three such facilities in Texas, Nebraska and South Dakota.