Expanding Capacity and Improving Efficiency
Renewable Bitcoin mining company Iris Energy has announced plans to increase its total hash rate to 10 exahashes per second (EH/s) by 2024. The company will achieve this by acquiring new Bitmain T21 mining rigs. Iris has recently purchased an additional 1.6 EH/s of Bitmain T21 miners, which are scheduled for delivery in the second quarter of 2024. Currently, Iris has an operational capacity of 5.6 EH/s as of December 2023.
The new generation of Bitmain's mining hardware will not only increase Iris' hash rate but also improve the efficiency of its operations. The energy efficiency will be enhanced from 29.5 joules per terahash (J/TH) to 24.8 J/TH. To acquire the new hardware, Iris invested $22.3 million, pricing each terahash at $14.
Expansion Plans and Future Growth
Iris Energy is set to bring an additional 1.4 EH/s of mining output by activating a previous order of Bitmain S21 miners in the first quarter. Additionally, the company is awaiting another batch of Bitmain T21 miners, which will further increase its capacity by 1.3 EH/s.
In June 2023, Iris announced an 80-megawatt (MW) expansion of its Childress data center operation in Texas. This expansion will allow for the delivery of additional operational capacity from January 2024, enabling Iris to increase its operating hash rate up to 10 EH/s as it receives new hardware from Bitmain. The company also plans to build another 100 MW of data centers at the site, leveraging an additional 500 MW of power capacity that is already available.
Diversification and Renewable Energy
While Iris Energy has primarily focused on Bitcoin mining, it is also expanding its data center services to meet the growing demand for generative artificial intelligence computing. In August, the company invested $10 million to purchase 248 state-of-the-art Nvidia H100 GPUs, which are expected to be delivered by the end of 2023.
Iris Energy prides itself on using 100% renewable energy for its operations. Its data centers generate power from a combination of wind, solar, and hydroelectric sources. The company's website includes a disclaimer stating that its three Canadian sites generate 98% of their power from renewables, with the remaining energy use being offset by the purchase of renewable energy certificates.
