Tether invests in El Salvador’s $1B renewable energy project

Stablecoin issuer Tether has announced that it will be partnering with Bitcoin-friendly nation El Salvador to invest in a planned $1 billion dollar renewable energy initiative.

The Central American country continues efforts to drive Bitcoin (BTC) adoption after becoming the first nation to make BTC legal tender some three years ago. The latest is a renewable power generation precinct in Metapán that aims to harness solar and wind energy that will power and be monetized by Bitcoin mining operations.

Tether is among investors in a first-round capital raise to develop Volcano Energy, a soon-to-be-developed 241-megawatt (MW) renewable energy park. The site is located in Metapán and will comprise 169 MWs of photovoltaic solar energy and 72 MWs of wind. 

Related: What it’s actually like to use Bitcoin in El Salvador

The energy produced will power Bitcoin mining farms in El Salvador, with Tether estimating the park’s computation power surpassing 1.3 exahashes per second. This output would put the cumulative Bitcoin mining hash rate from Volcano Energy in the top 20 pools operating globally.

Tether chief technology officer Paolo Ardoino said the investment marks the stablecoin issuer’s intent to drive investment in renewable energy production as well as mining infrastructure.

Volcano Energy CEO Josue Lopez said that he envisions the park being a benchmark for Bitcoin mining powered by renewable resources as the sector continues to innovate in a competitive and expansive environment:

“Currently, more than 52% of Bitcoin mining is being done sustainably. We believe this percentage will significantly increase in the coming years through important investments like ours.”

Tether did not disclose the amount of the investment in a correspondence with Cointelegraph. 

Bitcoin proponent and broadcaster Max Keiser is keenly involved in El Salvador’s adoption efforts, acting as an adviser to President Nayib Bukele as well as the chairman of Volcano Energy.

Saifedean Ammous, economist and author of The Bitcoin Standard, is another Bitcoin advocate who’s now involved in El Salvador’s governance after joining as an economic adviser to its National Bitcoin Office.

The proliferation of Bitcoin and the ability to use the preeminent cryptocurrency widely in El Salvador paints a more interesting picture, as Cointelegraph’s Joe Hall explored earlier in 2022 during a visit to the Central American country. 

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