Bitcoin mining company Riot Platforms announced on September 5 production and operations updates for August 2024.
Riot produced 322 bitcoins in August 2024, down 13% from July’s 370 bitcoin output and down 3% from August’s 333 bitcoin output in 2023. The company’s average daily bitcoin production also fell to 10.4, down from 11.9 in July.
Riot’s total deployed hash rate remained stable at 23.5 exahash per second (EH/s), an increase of 1% compared to July and a noticeable jump of 128% over the previous year. This hash rate is spread across facilities in Rockdale, Corsicana and Kentucky.
However, the average operational hashing rate fell 7% to 14.5 EH/s in August, impacted by high temperatures, operational constraints due to demand response programs and maintenance at the Rockdale facility.
Riot’s strategy of being a flexible energy consumer has been key to mitigating operating costs. The company participates in demand response programs that allow it to reduce energy consumption during peak demand periods and earn credits.
In August, Riot earned $6.4 million in total energy credits, up 90% from July. This approach allows Riot to consume energy when it is cheap and available in abundance, and to reduce consumption when demand is high, ensuring grid stability and lowering energy costs.
Riot’s huge infrastructure expansion
Riot is making significant progress in expanding its mining capacity, particularly at the Corsicana plant . The company is currently developing Phase 1 of this plant, which when completed will have a total mining capacity of 400 megawatts (MW).
Riot is continuing work on the construction of Building B1, the third 100 MW building at Corsicana, and has begun deploying miners there. Building B1 is expected to be fully operational by the end of September.
In addition, work is underway on the last 100 MW building, Building B2, and deployment of miners is expected to begin in September. In addition to the progress at Corsicana, Riot is increasing its hashrate capacity at recently acquired facilities in Kentucky.
Riot’s infrastructure development complements its participation in ERCOT’s Four Coincident Peak (4CP) program, which allows large energy users to reduce consumption during peak demand periods. This participation not only helps Riot achieve future cost savings, but also optimizes energy consumption and contributes positively to ERCOT’s grid stability .
Interestingly, the dispute between Riot and Bitfarms is still ongoing. Riot recently sent an open letter to Bitfarm, criticizing previous executive decisions and describing them as destructive to the company.
