Brewery Harnesses Solar Power to Mine Bitcoin and Make Beer

Hawkesbury Brewing Co in New South Wales has found an innovative way to utilize its excess solar energy. Instead of sending it back into the grid, they've installed a set of bitcoin miners that run on solar power and generate heat for their beer-making process.

The brewery's operations manager, Adam Neale, explained that they wanted to be 'on the cutting edge' of something new. They earn about $2,000 per month from the bitcoin mine, which almost covers their power bills.

The solar-powered bitcoin mine only runs when there is excess energy available, and it costs nothing to operate. The heat generated by the miners is used to clean bottles and produce beer, with a 90-degree liquid cooling system.

Professor Sean Foley of Macquarie University believes that this technique could be applied in other industries, such as public swimming pools and apartment buildings. However, he cautioned that the economics may not 'stack up', depending on the profitability of selling bitcoin.