VivoPower (Nasdaq: VVPR), a sustainable energy service provider, plans to start a crypto mining business through its subsidiary Caret, which owns solar power projects throughout the U.S.
- The new business will be named “Caret Decimal” and will have the capability to mine cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, ether and litecoin, according to a statement on Wednesday.
- For the deal, Caret will contribute an initial 206 MW-DC of solar sites in Texas in exchange for $20 million of equity in Caret Decimal.
- The solar power site will be built over a 24-month period, and VivoPower said it ultimately expects to spin off Caret Decimal via an initial public offering.
- “Once fully operational, these sites are expected to have 4,398 petahash capacity, a fleet of 33,000 mining rigs, revenue potential of approximately US$270m per annum with an EBITDA margin of approximately 87% based on forecast Bitcoin prices,” the company said.
- Use of more sustainable energy sources to mine digital assets has been a hot topic within the industry as more miners move towards becoming carbon neutral. The Bitcoin Mining Council, an industry forum, estimated that the global mining industry had grown its sustainable energy mix to about 58% of the total in the third quarter of this year, up 3% from the second quarter.
- VivoPower has operations in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, U.K., U.S. and the United Arab Emirates. Caret currently owns 38 solar projects in the U.S. totalling 1.8GW-DC.
