Canadian agricultural firm AgriFORCE Growing Systems Ltd. has launched an initiative to use stranded gas to power 120 Bitcoin mining rigs, which the company says it plans to expand.
The site, located in Berwyn, Alberta, and launched in partnership with energy provider BlueFlare Energy, draws in 425 kilowatts (kW) for 32 petahashes per second (PH/s) of computing power, AgriFORCE said on Tuesday.
The site will use so-called stranded gas, natural gas that can’t be immediately taken to market as it’s either not economically viable to mine or can’t be physically reached by the equipment needed to extract it.
AgriFORCE also signed a binding letter of intent with BlueFlare to open two more sites in the Alberta region in Oyen and Hinton, which will replicate the model used at its Berwyn site.
“We don’t wait for permits or grid upgrades — we convert gas into compute in weeks, not years,” AgriFORCE CEO Jolie Kahn said.
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AgriFORCE’s Bitcoin Strategy
AgriFORCE said it has already mined 7 Bitcoin (BTC), worth approximately $735,000, from its operations in Alberta and Ohio.
The Canadian firm could keep as much as half of the BTC it mines in its Bitcoin treasury, while the other half will be used for expanding its operations.
The firm said it could use up to 50% of the money it raises as capital to directly buy Bitcoin.
AgriFORCE stock reaction
Shares in AgriFORCE (AGRI) rose by 1.85% on Tuesday and ended the trading session at $1.10. However, AgriFORCE’s stock is down more than 53% year-to-date, according to Google Finance.
During the fiscal year ending 2024, AgriFORCE’s revenue saw an increase of 317% year-over-year, while its net profit increased more than 66% during the same period.
Renewable energy used for mining
With the cost of mining Bitcoin going up, miners will likely look at alternatives to keep their costs low.
A report from Bitcoin mining research firm TheMinerMag indicates that the cost to produce a single BTC stood at $64,000 in the first quarter of this year. The firm expects this cost to increase to $70,000 sometime during the quarter ending June 2025.
Earlier this year, a report highlighted that miners’ reliance on traditional coal-based sources of electricity is dwindling, while on the other hand, miners are increasingly adopting renewable energy, which is growing at an average rate of 5.8% yearly.
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