Hut 8 crypto miner looks to take over power plants in Ontario
By COLLIN GALLANT on November 7, 2023.
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant Hut 8 is seeking to take over power plants in Ontario that can produce five times the amount of power used at its Medicine Hat data processing location, the cryptocurrency firm announced Monday. A company release states the Ontario Superior Court will allow it to submit a “stalking horse bid” in the latest chapter in a dispute between Hut 8 and Validus Power. The other company filed for court creditors protection in August. The two companies announced a joint development agreement in 2021 that led to work repowering mothballed natural gas plants to host Bitcoin miners. Lawsuits ensued last winter relating to contracts at its North Bay, Ont. operations. According to a Hut 8 release, the undisclosed bid would, if successful, see Macquarie Equipment Finance Ltd. own a one-fifth share of the new Hut 8 subsidiary that will operate gas plants at North Bay, Iroquois Falls, Kapuskasing and Kingston. In total the facilities comprise 310 megawatts of power production capacity. The company’s operations in Medicine Hat are subject to a power purchase agreement with the city-owned power company for 42 megawatts as well as handling of additional power from the Alberta grid. 10-9
