Indiana Commits to Uninterrupted Energy Supply for Crypto Miners and Data Centers

Indiana aims to become a central hub for data centers and cryptocurrency mining by ensuring reliable, low-cost energy.

Indiana legislators have pledged to provide mega-corporations with abundant, affordable power and water, in an effort to attract and support data centers and cryptocurrency mining operations in the state.

Major companies such as Meta, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, along with cryptocurrency mining firm AboutBit, have either invested in or plan to establish facilities in Indiana.

While the state offers financial incentives to organizations, these benefits are not extended to AboutBit and other cryptocurrency miners.

Financial Incentives for Data Centers

In May, Amazon announced its intention to invest $11 billion in Indiana. Commenting on this, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb stated:

“[Amazon] wouldn’t have made the commitment without the confidence that we can supply both the power and the water.” Additionally, Commerce Secretary David Rosenberg, head of the Indiana Economic Development Corp., emphasized that the state has “ample amounts of both” power and water.

AboutBit has converted a 50-year-old power station into a sustainable, liquid-cooled cryptocurrency mining facility, located adjacent to the Merom Generating Station in Indiana.

Energy Consumption in Bitcoin Mining

As of May 28, U.S. Bitcoin miners have spent $2.7 billion on electricity in 2024.

“Since the start of 2024, Bitcoin mining in the U.S. has consumed an enormous 20,822.62 GWh of electric power,” said Paul Hoffman, an analyst at Best Brokers. “At the average commercial electricity rate of $0.1281 per kWh as of February, this amounts to an expenditure of $2,667,378,196.47.”

Before the Bitcoin halving in April, mining one BTC required 407,059.01 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, costing approximately $52,144.26. Post-halving, the electricity needed to mine one BTC has increased to 862,635.55 kWh, costing around $110,503.61 at average commercial rates.

Hoffman noted: “This amount of energy could charge every electric vehicle in the U.S. 87.52 times or power 1,983,107 households for a year, which is 1.51% of all U.S. households.”

In January, the Bitcoin ESG Forecast reported that sustainable energy use in Bitcoin mining reached a new high of 54.5%, with sustainable mining increasing by 3.6% overall during 2023.