Soluna Holdings and Canaan Inc. (NASDAQ: CAN) announced a partnership to launch a 20-megawatt, wind-powered bitcoin mining operation in Texas, called Project Dorothy.
Announced on Wednesday, the facility will primarily run on wind energy while maintaining a supplemental grid connection to ensure uninterrupted operations.
“The site uses wind energy directly from the farm but can pull power from the grid to maintain consistent uptime,” said Nangeng Zhang, Canaan’s chairman and CEO.
Project Dorothy will tap into what is called “behind-the-meter” wind power. Sometimes, the electrical grid cannot absorb all the electricity generated by wind farms. Instead of letting that power go unused, Soluna’s data center will operate directly next to the wind farm to capture excess energy.
This approach allows the facility to bypass the public grid. When the farm produces more power than the grid requires, Soluna will channel the surplus electricity to run high-powered computers for bitcoin mining using Canaan hardware. In addition, the system ensures the operation remains steady even when wind output fluctuates.
Operations are expected to begin in early 2026, with a goal of delivering roughly one exahash per second of computing power. That capacity ranks as substantial within the bitcoin mining industry, where electricity demand is intense.
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Bitcoin draws over half its electricity from sustainable sources
Historically, many crypto mining setups rely on grid electricity, which often comes from fossil fuel sources. However, a Cambridge study found that bitcoin now draws more than half of its electricity from sustainable energy. Despite this progress, mining continues to consume massive amounts of power. NerdWallet reported that global bitcoin mining uses more electricity than some entire nations.
By harnessing surplus renewable energy, Soluna and Canaan aim to offer a cleaner, more sustainable model. Furthermore, the initiative helps prevent energy waste while powering the digital economy.
Mining still presents environmental challenges. Even when powered by clean energy, bitcoin mining generates considerable electronic waste. The hardware requires constant upgrading, and the sheer computational load produces significant material impact. Consequently, the industry will need ongoing innovation to reduce environmental effects.
In addition to Project Dorothy, Soluna Holdings is developing other renewable-powered data centers. These facilities will also leverage wind energy to run intensive computing tasks, including further crypto mining and artificial intelligence applications.
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