Texas: Soluna's Project Dorothy Data Center Receives Approval to Go Live from ERCOT
Apr 25, 2023 | Posted by Abdul-Rahman Oladimeji
The manufacturer of green data centers for Bitcoin mining and other intensive computing, Soluna Computing, Inc., announced yesterday that it had received final authorization from ERCOT for powering Project Dorothy, its flagship data center in Texas, with immediate effect. The last legal requirement must be met before Soluna can power up its 50 MW data center for Bitcoin mining. The data center offers a solution to the power plant's curtailment challenges and is connected to a 150 MW wind farm. The project will be scaled up in stages, starting with Project Dorothy 1A at 25 MW and Project Dorothy 1B at 25 MW.
Project Dorothy will use excess energy from the nearby wind farm for its Bitcoin mining operations, making it one of the most affordable facilities of its kind in North America. When fully operational, the data center will obtain a significant portion of its energy from the wind farm and will be able to make money from the wind farm's energy curtailment. As the grid transitions to more green power plants, the data center's adaptable design will also help the grid absorb more renewable energy. The company has a growing pipeline of green data center projects in the US and offers curtailment+assessments to top independent power producers. The organization's Project+Dorothy facility is named after Dorothy+Vaughan, an African American mathematical analyst and "human computer" who worked for NASA and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in 1939.