20 megawatts data center for cryptocurrency mining in Doden, Sweden
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, 11-15-2014 at 03:56 AM (892 Views)
KnCMiner Adds 20 megawatts data center in Doden, Sweden
Based in the tech hub Stockholm, Sweden, KnCMiner produces state-of-the-art chip design and cloud services for Blockchain-based applications and cryptocurrency mining, has announced that it is adding 20 megawatts to what was previously going to be a 10 megawatt data center in Boden, Sweden, in the vicinity of a massive Facebook data center.
The announcement regarding this came as the company decided to expand its data center capacity in Boden to a total of 30 megawatts and 160,000 square feet. According to the source from the organization it decided this because of the abundance of hydropower in the area and a favorable business environment.
KnCMiner says that it is groundbreaking as it is expanding the performance and an indication that there is pent up demand for Bitcoin mining data center space. Bitcoin which went up after the case of fire in a Bitcoin mining data center has huge demand for Bitcoin mining data centers; in fact, some companies have started them separately.
As Bitcoin mining need a lot of power and cooling but not necessarily the level of reliability offered by traditional data center providers, KnCMiner decided to do this on own. Additionally, as traditional colo services are generally cost-prohibitive for mining companies, it is better for the company to go solo on it and develop its own data center for higher capacity.
Low-Cost Hydro Power and Free of Cost Cooling
KnCMiner is not alone in this exercise as many other companies have built and continue to build massive data centers designed specifically for the Bitcoin mining purposes. The decision to get the new data center by the company is an indication that the place provides low-cost clean energy which is fundamental for cost-benefit.
The country provides cheap power thanks to the abundance of cheap hydropower which has made Central Washington one of the hotbeds for mining operations. Sam Cole, a KnC co-founder, said that Clear Sky farm in the polar region takes advantage of locally produced renewable hydropower and the surrounding arctic air to achieve industry-leading efficiency.
Nonetheless, KnCMiner and Facebook aren’t the only data center projects going on in Boden and the surrounding area; there are several other firms as well. One such company called Hydro66 is building a massive, 500,000 square foot, data center at the place. They all admit that they prefer this place for its cheap hydropower and cool climate for free cooling.
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