Nodal Power, headquartered in Utah, is advancing its innovative approach of converting landfill methane gas into electricity for bitcoin mining data centers. This week, the company secured $13 million in funding to further develop its operations, according to company executives.
Methane, a potent greenhouse gas produced by decomposing organic matter in landfills, significantly contributes to global warming. Nodal Power’s unique solution involves capturing this methane and using it for beneficial purposes.
“When a landfill reaches a certain size, the EPA mandates the capture and collection of these gases,” said Matthew Jones, Nodal Power co-founder and chief operating officer, in an interview with Blockworks. “We clean, dry, and compress the gas, then use it to generate electricity that can either be fed into the power grid or used to run an on-site datacenter.”
A recent KPMG report highlighted that capturing and utilizing methane gas could substantially reduce methane emissions, provided there is widespread adoption of such practices. The report indicated that the volume of flared methane in the US and Canada is sufficient to power the entire Bitcoin network.
Nodal Power currently owns and operates two bitcoin mining data centers in the US, with a third facility scheduled to become operational in early 2024. These data centers are powered by electricity generated from landfill gas at the company’s power plants.
The first data center, located in the southwestern United States, has a hashing power of 15 petahashes per second (PH/s) and a generation capacity of 3.2 megawatts (MW) with 160 miners. Despite its mining capability, the primary focus is often on exporting electricity to the local utility grid, which is more profitable in certain economic conditions.
“Site 1…often does not use the data center because grid economics favor export of the electricity instead of on-site use,” Jones explained.
The second data center, situated in the “mountain west,” is the larger of the two currently operational sites, with a capacity of 1.6 MW and a hashing power of 50 PH/s, supported by 500 miners.
The third data center, the main focus of the recent $13 million funding, is expected to mirror the second site in terms of power and mining capacity. Although Jones did not confirm the exact number of miners, he estimated the new facility would achieve a hashing power of 60-70 PH/s.
The recent $13 million funding round was backed by a group of high-net-worth individuals, including notable investors such as Clarke Miyasaki of Stance Socks and Chris Bennett, founder and chairman of marketing agency 97th Floor. Nodal Power did not disclose its valuation but mentioned that 10 additional investors, many from outside the cryptocurrency sector, participated in the funding round.