CHEYENNE (Tribune News Service) — In May, the Biden administration ordered a crypto-mining operation in Cheyenne to divest due to its proximity to F.E. Warren Air Force Base and national security concerns associated with speculations about the business’s ties to the Chinese government.

In August, it was announced that the property, located in Front Range Business Park, was acquired by CleanSpark, an American bitcoin infrastructure company. Earlier this week, the company met with the Wyoming Legislature’s Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation Technology to present updates on their recent acquisition.

“So, I said it to you in person, and I’ll say it here on the record: We really want you here, and we really deeply appreciate everything you’re investing in Wyoming, and we want to facilitate that to the greatest extent that we can,” committee co-Chairman Rep. Cyrus Western, R-Big Horn, said to CleanSpark CEO and President Zach Bradford during Monday’s meeting.

CleanSpark officially acquired the property late last week when it received permission from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CIFIUS), the same organization that ordered the previous owners to divest, to close on the property.

Company leaders report they will utilize 45 megawatts of energy to power their Bitcoin mining operations. This is in addition to a facility CleanSpark acquired in August at the Campstool Business Park that will use 30 MW, for a total of an anticipated 75 MW footprint in Wyoming by the end of 2024, equivalent to the energy needed to power approximately 62,500 homes, based on the average American household energy consumption.

According to a press release from CleanSpark, the company is actively working to expand the available power at the 30 MW site to further increase operational capacity.

Though they have not publicly stated where they will source the energy for the operations or whether they will try to increase energy consumption there, as well, the former owner of the land at Front Range Business Park, MineOne Partners Limited, previously told the WTE that their Bitcoin mining operation had an energy agreement with Black Hills Energy to deliver up to 45 MW of electric service, with potential to expand to 75 MW.

“What we have found in the way that we engage in all states that we go into is that it’s about being a partner with the utility,” Bradford said in reference to his company’s first business endeavors in Wyoming. He said he refers to this as his “front door approach.”

So far, Bradford said CleanSpark has invested a little over $25 million in the properties to date and expects to invest an additional $40 million to $50 million in infrastructure, such as substations, over the next three to six months at both properties. After that, he said they will designate at least another $100 million for servers. He estimates this will create close to 40 jobs between the two properties.

“So, we want to be in areas and places with abundant power or power that has intermittent needs that we, and the community at large, can benefit from our participation in,” Bradford said.

He said they also plan to invest in further infrastructure, such as substations. The company hopes to replicate some of the work they have done in the four other states they have a presence, including Georgia.

“Our intention and our hope is just like we did in Georgia,” he said, “where Georgia was a net (energy) export state and still is. It allowed that power to stay in-state and generate jobs and tax dollars inside the state lines.”

Bradford told the committee he hopes his company will continue to expand throughout Wyoming.

(c)2024 Wyoming Tribune-Eagle.

Visit Wyoming Tribune-Eagle at www.wyomingnews.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.