Show Notes
🔗 Bush Mining: Website: https://bushmining.com
In this episode of HashrateUp, Jesse introduces Bush Mining, his new venture with partner Conrad, and walks through the live pilot project: a hydro-powered farm in South Africa's Eastern Cape that turns stranded, wasted power into Bitcoin mining revenue.
Jesse breaks down the flexible-compute model that makes it work: a site survey identifies surplus power, metering and load controllers measure what's truly available, and ASIC miners soak up only the stranded energy that would otherwise be dumped as heat. Local needs always come first, the load follows the site, and the system can switch off from full load to near-zero in under 0.4 seconds the moment power is needed elsewhere. The conversation then opens up into the bigger picture: why so much renewable generation goes to waste, and how flexible Bitcoin mining can make otherwise unviable energy projects pencil out.
Whether you operate a farm with excess solar, sit on stranded hydro, or want to build an energy asset that nobody could justify before, this one shows how surplus power becomes income, fully scalable from a single machine to half a megawatt in a shipping container.
TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Intro: introducing Bush Mining 0:32 The idea: turning wasted power into revenue 0:48 Flexible compute, wherever surplus exists 1:05 The Eastern Cape pilot goes live 1:24 How it works: surplus first, local needs always come first 2:28 Switching off in under 0.4 seconds 3:13 Power source, metering & flexible compute 3:37 Remote operations & load following the site 4:00 The pilot site 4:36 Islanded grid: power that can't be sold 5:18 From dump load to productive mining 5:27 Scalability: one machine to a megawatt 5:59 The 40-year-old hydro dam up close 6:30 Existing dump load vs Bush Mining 7:16 Customer portal preview & next steps 7:24 Who should reach out
🛠 Sponsored by:
SoloMining, Home & solo mining made easy Code: HASHRATEUP https://solomining.de
Altair Technology, Buy Bitcoin Mining Solutions Code: HASHRATEUP https://altairtech.io
Luxor, Mining software, firmware & hashrate tools https://luxor.tech/
📲 HashrateUp Hardware Deals Telegram: https://t.me/hashrateup
📩 Learn Bitcoin Mining (Free 5 Day Course) https://hashrateup.com/newsletter-sign-up/
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HashrateUp Hydro Hosting is live: enterprise-grade, hydro-cooled hosting in Texas, now open to small miners starting at just one machine. 👉 Get started: https://hashrateup.com
Public Bitcoin miners shed about 75 EH/s in the first half of 2026, roughly $1.5 billion worth of mining hardware, as their power moves to AI. In this NEWS episode, Jesse breaks down who is leaving, where the hashrate is going and what it means for the miners who stay.
Cheap power means nothing if the government turns against you. Giannis Andreou, CEO of Bitmern Mining, started hosting Bitcoin miners in the UAE on agricultural power below 6¢/kWh, was forced out when the government banned that power, moved to Ethiopia, and is now watching the same story repeat as the Ethiopian government takes over mining and large operators pack up and leave.
Texas is ending 4CP. The incentive that saved flexible miners roughly $50,000 per MW per year is likely in its final season, and ERCOT is moving toward 12CP by 2028. Haley Thomson, Director of Energy at Luxor, explains what that means for Bitcoin miners and who ends up paying for the grid.Haley breaks down how 4CP actually works, why firm loads are pushing for change, and how 18+ GW of new battery storage has compressed capacity prices across ERCOT. We also cover why Bitcoin mining is close to the perfect grid-balancing load, how batteries and miners compare as grid assets, and how Luxor performed what's likely the first 4CP curtailment of GPUs in ERCOT.We also walk through the Luxor Energy dashboard live, from tracking load against breakeven to iMiner underclocking, 4CP buffer settings and what it really costs to be online during a peak. At the time of recording, 4CP season 2026 was likely already over.This episode is not sponsored by Luxor. Nothing discussed is financial advice. Do your own diligence before making energy or mining decisions.Guest: Haley Thomson, Director of Energy at Luxor TechnologyLuxor Energy: https://luxor.tech/energyHaley on Hashrate Index: https://hashrateindex.com/blog/author/haley/Luxor: https://luxor.techTimestamps:0:00 Intro0:45 Can AI provide grid flexibility?1:31 The first GPU 4CP curtailment in ERCOT3:45 What 4CP is worth: ~$50K per MW per year6:02 How 4CP works and who pays for the grid8:54 Why Bitcoin mining is the perfect flexible load11:45 Adding 60 GW of renewables: the transmission bottleneck14:00 Why firm loads want 4CP gone16:43 How miners lower off-peak energy prices20:57 Renewables, congestion and transmission costs24:54 12CP explained: what changes for miners29:29 Curtailing at $0 power: the solar mismatch31:04 How 18 GW of batteries reshaped ERCOT36:22 Battery vs Bitcoin mine39:10 Capex: batteries vs hydro vs air-cooled mining41:49 Luxor Energy dashboard walkthrough43:54 iMiner: raising breakeven from $75 to $90/MWh45:28 4CP buffer settings and risk48:58 What missing a 4CP peak really costs51:54 The AI pivot and tier-zero data centers55:11 Where to find Haley and Luxor EnergySponsored by:Altair Technology. ASIC hardware, replacement parts and mining infrastructureCode: HASHRATEUPhttps://altairtech.io/aff/125/HashrateUp Hardware Deals: https://t.me/hashrateupFree 5-Day Bitcoin Mining Course: https://hashrateup.com/newsletter-sign-up/#BitcoinMining #ERCOT #4CP #LuxorEnergy #HashrateUp