There is no more energy available for cryptocurrency in Quebec, but Bitfarms has managed to find some in Baie-Comeau, where the company will settle to increase its bitcoin mining activity.
Bitfarms bought out a contract that Orion Technologies made in 2018 with the municipality of Baie-Comeau, which operates its own electricity distribution network, for the use of 22 megawatts of energy.
This is an unexpected opportunity for Bitfarms to expand in Quebec, said Benoit Gobeil, senior vice-president of the company whose head office is in Brossard. “There are a few more left, but I’m keeping it a secret,” he said in an interview with The Press.
Bitfarms paid 1.8 million US to Orion Technologies to buy back its electricity supply contract concluded with the City of Baie-Comeau. The payment, paid 40% in cash and 60% in shares of Bitfarms, includes the rental of a building for ten years.
For the City of Baie-Comeau, which has been working for a long time to attract cryptocurrency companies to its territory, the transaction concluded between Bitfarms and Orion Technologies is good news. “That means $600,000 in new revenue per year for the city,” said Mayor Michel Desbiens.
Orion Technologies gave up its mining project in Baie-Comeau, and Bitfarms seized the opportunity. The company whose shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange is active mainly in Quebec, in Sherbrooke, Farnham, Magog and Coaticook. The stock gained 15% yesterday, ending the day at $1.67. For a year, the action has evolved between $0.52 and $4.29.
PHOTO JESSICA GARNEAU, LA TRIBUNE ARCHIVES
One of Bitfarms facilities in Sherbrooke
At the end of 2022, Bitfarms ceased part of its activities in Sherbrooke, on one of its three sites which had aroused discontent among citizens because of the incessant noise generated by computers. The equipment will be reinstalled in Baie-Comeau, where the company plans to invest $5 million and hire fifteen people.
No more megawatts reserved for cryptocurrencies
The government has decided to no longer allocate additional energy to the cryptocurrency sector now that Hydro-Québec’s surpluses are disappearing and the demand for renewable energy is increasing sharply.
Hydro-Québec began by being inundated with requests for supplies from the cryptocurrency industry and obtained from the Régie de l’énergie the right to limit the amount of energy allocated to this sector to 300 megawatts. Municipal distribution networks, such as in Sherbrooke and Baie-Comeau, had also been limited in the allocation of electricity to cryptocurrency activities.
Demand from this line of business waned and there were still 270 of the 300 megawatts allocated to cryptocurrencies that had not been allocated. Last year, the government decided that these megawatts would be reserved for uses other than cryptocurrency.