Summary
On this research, we reveal that it isn’t solely possible however economically viable and environmentally useful to make use of landfill fuel (LFG) for digital asset compute (e.g., Bitcoin mining). To assist this principle, Marathon partnered with Nodal Energy to harness extra capability from their undertaking, which is completely powered by landfill methane fuel. This partnership, leveraging Nodal’s patented know-how, efficiently utilized methane from a landfill, transformed it into electrical energy, and used it to energy the on-site knowledge heart. This course of proved to be persistently dependable, with excessive uptime and emerged financially useful for Marathon and Nodal. The price of electrical energy was considerably decrease than the {industry} common, and the landfill generated income from a beforehand untapped useful resource that might in any other case have been wasted. Moreover, powering compute with landfill fuel effectively decreased methane emissions. In eventualities the place the landfill would have resorted to flaring the methane, digital asset compute proved to be simpler in mitigating emissions.
This pilot undertaking was Marathon’s first profitable take a look at run of “vitality harvesting,” which incorporates initiatives devoted to changing waste into vitality, methane fuel recapture, stabilizing vitality grids by using stranded or extra vitality, and reusing warmth generated by knowledge facilities for industrial and business functions.
Introduction
Methane is a potent greenhouse fuel with a worldwide warming potential 80 occasions larger than carbon dioxide over a 20-year interval. In line with the World Methane Evaluation, “attaining methane emissions reductions within the subsequent decade will preserve the planet considerably cooler than makes an attempt to chop carbon dioxide emissions alone.” In our Cashing in on Trash report, we cited that landfills are liable for 11% of worldwide methane emissions, with current research suggesting that these emissions is perhaps 1.4 to 2.6 occasions increased than beforehand estimated.
Recognizing that landfills are main emitters of methane, we believed there was a chance to make landfills extra sustainable with our digital asset compute applied sciences. Giant landfills able to producing enough portions of methane have the choice to economically cut back their emissions by way of waste-to-energy conversion applied sciences. These websites can convert captured methane into two types of sustainable vitality: 1) electrical energy, which may be offered to the grid, and a couple of) renewable pure fuel (RNG), which may be distributed by way of pipelines. Sadly, conventional waste-to-energy conversion strategies are sometimes not possible or economical for smaller or extra distant landfills. In our report, we proposed a extra viable, win-win answer that we believed was possible at present for smaller landfills: seize methane from landfills, convert it into electrical energy, and energy digital asset knowledge facilities to economically cut back methane emissions.
To check our principle, Marathon launched a pilot undertaking by becoming a member of Nodal’s off-grid digital asset compute facility to energy a Bitcoin knowledge heart with 100% renewable, off-grid vitality from a landfill.
Pilot Particulars
Location: Utah, USALaunch Date: September 27, 2023Pilot Standing: On-goingDuration: 240+ daysCapacity: 270 kWComputing Tools: 83 S19J ProsOperational Hash Fee (computing energy): 8.3 PH/s
Determine 1: Marathon’s and Nodal’s Undertaking
The outcomes from this pilot supported our preliminary principle. Marathon and Nodal utilized methane from the landfill and transformed it into electrical energy to energy a digital asset knowledge heart. The landfill efficiently decreased its methane emissions whereas producing a income stream it in any other case couldn’t have earned. Marathon and Nodal realized an vitality value considerably beneath the {industry} common and maintained an above-average operational uptime. Moreover, this was Marathon’s first profitable trial of “vitality harvesting,” marking a big milestone in our growth of sustainable and inclusive vitality tasks. These tasks embody changing waste into vitality, methane fuel recapture, stabilizing the vitality grid by using stranded or extra vitality, and reusing warmth generated by mining programs for industrial and business processes.
Definitions and Calculations of Key Metrics
Throughout our pilot undertaking, we tracked numerous metrics to guage the effectiveness and impression of our operations. The next are the important thing metrics used on this report, every outlined with its definition and calculation methodology.
Common Operational Hash Fee
The typical hash price or computing energy that was generated throughout a selected time interval from all operational digital asset computing gadgets, measured in petahashes per second (PH/s).
Pool reported hash price per day / Complete days
Operational Uptime
The proportion of time that the computing gadgets have been useful and actively working.
Operational uptime = Minutes with pool reported hash price / Complete minutes
Methane Utilized
The quantity of methane fuel (CH4) that was harnessed for era, measured in Commonplace Cubic Ft (SCF).
CH4 utilized (SCF) = Common petahash (PH/s) × Methane utilization price (SCF/PH/s/Day) × Days
Carbon Dioxide Equal Emissions (C02e)
CO2e quantifies the worldwide warming impression of assorted greenhouse gases, like methane, by evaluating their impact to that of an equal quantity of carbon dioxide. This comparability relies on every fuel’s World Warming Potential (GWP), an element that represents the comparative warming impact of a unit of the fuel relative to the identical unit of CO2 over a selected time-frame. We used a GWP timeline of 20 years (issue: 84) and 100 years (issue: 28).
C02e = CH4 kilos utilized * GWP issue
Be aware: We assumed one SCF of CH4 equals 0.045 kilos at one environment and 80 levels Fahrenheit.
Common Gas Value per Kilowatt-hour (kWh)
The typical value of electrical energy per kWh consists of operational and upkeep bills.
Common Gas Value per kWh =
(SCF × 0.001002 dekatherms per SCF × methane content material share × price per dekatherm / kwh) + (operations and upkeep value / kWh)
Outcomes
The outcomes introduced on this part mirror the primary 240 days of the pilot undertaking, spanning from September 27, 2023, to Might 24, 2024. It is very important observe that these findings don’t embody all the period of the undertaking however focus particularly on this era.
Methane Utilized
Over the course of 240 days, we utilized roughly 16.1 million SCF of methane. This determine was estimated from the each day utilization price, which was roughly 8,400 SCF of methane for every petahash operational.
Had we not harnessed this methane, the landfill would have flared it. Whereas flaring does cut back the worldwide warming potential of methane by changing it into carbon dioxide, it is just about 92% environment friendly. On common, 8% of flared methane nonetheless escapes into the environment. By redirecting the methane to energy a reciprocating engine to provide electrical energy for Nodal’s knowledge heart, we achieved a close to 100% mitigation effectivity. This strategy resulted in us mitigating a further 672 SCF of methane each day per petahash, which might in any other case not have been mitigated by flaring. Within the span of 240 days, we prevented the discharge of roughly 1.3 million SCF of methane into the environment.
Determine 2: Methane Utilized by Marathon’s and Nodal’s LFG Pilot Undertaking (240 Day Length)
Carbon Dioxide Equal Impression
To contextualize the environmental impression of our pilot undertaking, we calculated its methane utilization in its carbon dioxide equal utilizing a GWP timeline of 20 years and 100 years.
Of the entire 16.1 million SCF of methane we utilized, our findings point out that we helped forestall the discharge of roughly 60.9 million kilos of C02e utilizing a 20-year GWP timeline and 20.3 million kilos of CO2e utilizing the 100-year GWP timeline.
In line with the Environmental Safety Company (EPA), a mean gas-powered passenger automobile emits about 9,200 kilos of C02 yearly. Thus, over the course of 240 days, our undertaking mitigated the equal of 6,627 gas-powered passenger vehicles utilizing the 20-year GWP timeline and a couple of,209 gas-powered passenger vehicles utilizing the 100-year GWP timeline.
If we solely think about the extra 1.2 million SCF of methane mitigated along with flaring, we prevented the discharge of roughly 4.8 million kilos of C02e utilizing a 20-year GWP timeline and roughly 1.6 million kilos of CO2e utilizing the 100-year GWP timeline. Thus, over the course of 240 days, our undertaking mitigated the equal of the yearly emissions from 530 gas-powered passenger vehicles utilizing the 20-year GWP timeline and 177 gas-powered passenger vehicles utilizing the 100-year GWP timeline.
Determine 3: Carbon Dioxide Equal Methane Utilized by Marathon’s and Nodal’s LFG Pilot Undertaking (240 Day Length)
Operational Effectivity and Uptime
We used a reciprocating engine on-site to transform the methane into electrical energy. This engine produced as much as 10,000 BTU per kWh, equating to a conversion effectivity of roughly 34%. In comparison with the typical coal and current nuclear energy crops, which function at an effectivity of round 32% and 33%, respectively, Nodal’s generator operated at a barely increased effectivity.
Determine 4: Effectivity of the Common Pure Fuel Energy Crops, Present Nuclear Energy Crops, and Coal Energy Crops Versus Nodal’s On-Website Reciprocating Generator
Determine 5: On-Website Reciprocating Generator and Information Heart
Furthermore, to successfully harness the methane for generator use, it underwent remedy by way of a fuel compression and conditioning skid. This important step refined and pressurized the methane to satisfy needed requirements. The extent of remedy will depend on the fuel high quality, straight influenced by the landfill’s natural matter composition. On this specific case, the landfill fuel contained roughly 50% methane, leading to a relatively decrease stage of remedy requirement.
Determine 6: Fuel Compression and Conditioning Skid
A key facet of the undertaking’s success was the landfill’s skill to generate a constant stream of methane because of its favorable waste composition and quantity. Going into the undertaking, we anticipated an operational uptime of 85%, which is roughly on par with the {industry} common. Nevertheless, our pilot exceeded expectations, attaining an uptime of 92%. Downtimes have been primarily because of upkeep functions and weren’t because of a scarcity of fuel availability.
Determine 7: Common Operational Uptime of Marathon’s and Nodal’s Pilot Undertaking
*The typical uptime of digital asset compute suppliers relies on the typical Bitcoin hash price realization price. These suppliers embody Iris Vitality, Bitdeer Applied sciences Group, Hive Digital Applied sciences, Bit Digital, CleanSpark, TeraWulf, Core Scientific, Cipher Mining Applied sciences, Riot Platforms, Marathon Digital Holdings, Argo Blockchain, Hut 8, and Digihost Expertise. The information was accessed on Might 28, 2024, and should have modified since then.
Monetary Advantages for Marathon, Nodal, and the Landfill
Nodal’s Energy Plant generates electrical energy at a price of $0.03 per kWh, which incorporates operational and upkeep prices. This price is lower than half the typical $0.08 per kWh paid by the commercial sector.
Determine 8: Common Gas Prices Together with Electrical energy, Operational, and Upkeep Prices of Marathon’s and Nodal’s LFG Pilot Undertaking
Our pilot undertaking was not eligible for carbon credit or renewable vitality credit (RECs), advantages that many related websites usually obtain. If we had certified for these incentives, our computing bills would have been considerably decrease.
Over the 240 days, Marathon and Nodal utilized roughly 1.4 million kWh of electrical energy, which the landfill was in a position to generate income from. With out Marathon’s and Nodal’s pilot undertaking, the landfill would have flared the surplus methane, yielding no extra monetary profit. Confronted with restricted choices, the landfill may both flare the methane with none monetary acquire or harness it to energy an on-site knowledge heart. The latter possibility, as evidenced by the pilot undertaking, not solely prevented waste but additionally turned a beforehand unprofitable byproduct right into a income.
Conclusion
The outcomes from our pilot undertaking efficiently validated our preliminary principle. Digital asset compute isn’t solely doable but additionally an economically viable possibility to cut back methane emissions from landfills. Marathon and Nodal efficiently captured methane from a landfill, transformed it into electrical energy, and used it to energy Nodal’s knowledge heart. For knowledge heart operators like Marathon and Nodal, the undertaking was financially advantageous, as we realized a lower-than-industry common value for computing with reliably excessive uptime. For the landfill, which beforehand didn’t have an incentive to place the methane fuel into productive use, digital asset compute supplied a catalyst to cut back emissions extra successfully by creating a brand new earnings stream that in any other case couldn’t have been generated. This undertaking was, certainly, a win-win for all events concerned.
Moreover, we consider the strategies and insights gained from this undertaking open the door to new alternatives at landfill websites and different industries the place we will leverage our vitality harvesting applied sciences to faucet underutilized or wasted vitality sources and switch them into productive, extra sustainable belongings.
Disclaimer: This report is supplied for basic informational functions solely. The opinions expressed within the report might differ from these expressed by Marathon Digital Holdings (“MDH”), its officers, workers, administrators or advisors or their associates. The knowledge on this report doesn’t represent funding, authorized, accounting or different recommendation or info by MDH or its officers, workers, administrators or advisors or their associates. Data has been obtained from sources believed to be dependable, however MDH or its associates don’t warrant its completeness or accuracy. Outlooks and previous efficiency aren’t ensures of future outcomes. The knowledge within the report could also be modified with out discover and isn’t assured to be full, right or up-to-date, and should not mirror probably the most present developments.
