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May 09, 2022, 03:30:26 AM
Last edit: May 09, 2022, 03:57:32 AM by Coinfarm ventures |
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The price of commercial power at 1 MW of load (300 S19/M30S ASICs) on publicly available tariffs in competitive markets is 5¢-10¢ in 95% of the cities in the U.S. The remaining 5% of the country has power cheaper or more expensive than that. States like Washington, New York or Texas have rates on the lower end of that range, while CA/NJ/FL are on the upper end.
Mega miners usually sign special deals where they can buy bulk power directly from generation stations for as little as 3-4 cents. The cheapest source is probably flared natural gas.
Sadly, most of us are stuck with using grid power. I can speak to North Texas in particular: the rate at 1MW primary on ONCOR was ~5.7¢ over the past 12 months with 96% uptime (other utilities are similar). In eastern Pennsylvania it is 7-8.5¢.
The delivery charge is usually 1-2¢ of the bill for most utilities, and usually goes down as you use more power and/or buy your own transformers. The energy charge is typically 3-6¢ on the open market.
Rates can vary tremendously in different parts of each state. Upstate New York has cheap power (4-6¢), but Long Island is a ridiculous 12-15¢. You also need to watch out for smaller utility companies in non-competitive areas. I visited a warehouse in the Middle of Nowhere, Texas where I thought the rate was 6-7¢, but it was actually 8-9¢. In general, if you're using grid power, don't set up shop in a rural area because they won't have enough power available.
Is the energy price in the U.S. reasonable for ASIC mining? Of course, as long as your farm is in one of the cheap-energy states and you don't use equipment that is too old. Looks like the sweet spot is 40W/TH, while miners less efficient than 60W/TH are risky especially with the falling BTC price. The higher the power price, the newer the miners should be.
The biggest factor you'll need to worry about with a U.S-based farm is the tax law. The coins are considered income the moment they arrive in your wallet. Therefore, you need to re-invest the coins into new equipment before the end of the year to avoid income tax.
Let me know if you need any help estimating your energy cost. I have spoken to a few energy brokers and I have custom software to calculate historical market rates, then find the best hardware based on that rate. It can also lower power usage during peak pricing.
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