Hut 8 Activates 205 Megawatt Texas Bitcoin Mining Facility

Hut 8 Corp. has activated its Vega data center in Texas, marking a significant milestone in the company's expansion into large-scale Bitcoin mining. The facility, which spans 162,000 square feet, is designed to support up to 205 megawatts of energy capacity and deliver 15 exahashes per second (EH/s) of computing power. This positions Vega as one of the largest single-building mining operations globally by nominal hashrate, potentially accounting for nearly 2% of the global Bitcoin hashrate once fully operational.

The Vega facility is powered by a combination of energy from a nearby wind farm and the ERCOT grid, aligning with Hut 8's strategy to integrate large-scale digital infrastructure with consistent energy resources. The power system supports a modular design capable of reaching 180 kilowatts per rack, exceeding by 50% the energy needs of NVIDIA’s Blackwell HGX GPU servers. The architecture, developed in-house, includes integrated platforms for cooling and power distribution, as well as racks and intelligent energy units. These components are designed to improve thermal management and enhance uptime in high-temperature environments, accommodating new computing demands, especially in liquid-cooled systems and high-density chip configurations.

Hut 8 has deployed a liquid cooling system that circulates over 120,000 gallons of glycol-water mixture through 96 modules, operating on a closed-loop return model to reduce overall water usage. This design reflects a shift toward more controlled and sustainable resource management within the industry. The core fleet at Vega consists of up to 17,280 BITMAIN U3S21EXPH servers, each capable of processing up to 860 terahashes per second at an efficiency of 13 joules per terahash. Hut 8 is hosting these machines under a colocated arrangement with Bitmain, with an option for American Bitcoin, a Hut 8 majority-owned subsidiary, to acquire the equipment and scale its own hashrate capacity from 10 to 25 EH/s.

The estimated capital cost for Vega is between $430,000 and $450,000 per megawatt, reflecting infrastructure investment per unit of power rather than the overall facility cost. Hut 8 has not confirmed the final total. Texas has emerged as a strategic location for Bitcoin mining, with estimates suggesting it could host 15% to 20% of the global hashrate. Despite environmental pressures and high temperatures, several companies continue to build or expand operations in the region. One of them, Marathon Digital, is developing a new grid network optimized for mining, in partnership with TAE Power Solutions.

This expansion by Hut 8 underscores the growing trend of Bitcoin mining operations moving to regions with abundant and cost-effective energy sources. The use of liquid cooling technology and sustainable energy practices highlights the industry's shift towards more efficient and environmentally friendly mining operations. The partnership with Bitmain and the strategic location in Texas further solidify Hut 8's position as a leader in the Bitcoin mining sector, poised to capture a significant portion of the global hashrate.