Bitcoin Farm Heats Five-Acre Czech Greenhouse
A major side effect of the computer rigs and servers serious
cryptominers run is plenty of heat (one low-level miner in
Washington state said his three servers were enough to keep
his house warm this winter). Kamil Brejcha, co-founder of Czech
digital currency exchange NakamotoX, isn’t letting that warmth
go to waste. He revealed on Twitter that the excess heat from
his company’s cryptomining servers is blown into a five-acre
greenhouse where they’re growing tomatoes—or ‘cryptomatoes,’ as
he’s calling them. “Who would imagine that mining cryptocurrencies
and agriculture can work together?” he wrote. “The first batch of
‘cryptomatoes’ is ready to be harvested. We are using the excess
heat for the tomato greenhouse and it is working.” Brejcha says the
greenhouse covers around five acres, adding the bitcoin mining
operation is powered by bio-waste-produced energy.
—munchies.vice.com
Australian Farmer Looks to Share Urban
Farming Knowledge
A Melbourne farmer with big goals wants to share his urban
farming knowledge by building a university-like campus in all major
Australian cities. Jan Vydra plans to develop spaces where other
farmers can learn about urban farming and see how it operates
in a real-life setting. “What we really want to do now is take that
concept and build a campus in each capital city, so we can localize
produce and provide jobs to people in the industry that’s in a
different format,” says Vydra, who is co-owner of Australian Fresh
Leaf Herbs. His vision includes each facility having vertical farms,
commercial production sites, and teaching spaces. Vydra’s plan
begins with a Melbourne campus followed by others in Brisbane,
Perth, Adelaide, and Sydney. He completed a Nuffield Scholarship-
funded study tour in 2016, allowing him to travel and see how other
countries practice urban and vertical farming.
—weeklytimesnow.com.au
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