Cryptocurrency Miner Spends $100M on Property at Former Alcoa Site

Bitdeer Technologies Group spent $100 million on 200 acres at the former Alcoa Corp. site in Milan County. The Austin Business Journal reports the company plans to use that land to expand artificial intelligence and high-performance computing operations. Among other things, the company is a cryptocurrency miner.

The company said it now owns and operates 255 acres at the site near Rockdale, about 70 miles northeast of Austin, and plans to scale its grid operations from 563 to 742 megawatts, while having access to a dedicated water supply. Bitdeer’s operations at Sandow Lakes Ranch began in 2019.

Economic development efforts have more than replaced the jobs lost when Alcoa left. In addition to a handful of large manufacturers, the campus is earmarked for residential, retail, office, hospitality and leisure facilities, all connected by a series of lakes.