MARA has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Great Plains Wind in Hansford County, Texas, with 240 MW of interconnection capacity and 114 MW of nameplate wind power capacity.
The acquisition represents a major step forward in MARA’s objectives to convert underutilized sustainable resources into economic value, achieve near-zero energy cost, and enable broader renewable energy deployment, the company says.
MARA will develop and operate a behind-the-meter data center powered entirely by the site’s 114 MW of wind capacity at zero-marginal energy cost. By operating a data center at this site, MARA expects to take wind demand off the grid – alleviating grid congestion, enabling renewable energy development and building local power demand.
“This acquisition serves as a blueprint for how the energy and data center sectors can collaborate to create long-term value while advancing sustainability initiatives,” says Fred Thiel, MARA’s chairman and CEO. “By repurposing machines and energizing them with 100% renewable, zero-marginal energy cost, we’re leveraging renewable resources that would have otherwise been curtailed, reducing our bitcoin production costs through vertical integration, and demonstrating MARA’s commitment to environmental stewardship.”
The site will utilize last-generation ASIC mining hardware that would have otherwise been written off or sold into the secondary market. MARA’s approach, called the Advanced ASIC Retirement Initiative, creates a more sustainable and capital-efficient alternative to discarding retired machines, providing an avenue for the hardware to continue operating profitably beyond their normal lifecycle, utilizing wind power that would otherwise have been curtailed.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close by the first quarter of 2025.
Photo: National Grid Renewables
