MARA, one of the largest publicly traded bitcoin mining companies, has launched an exciting new pilot program to power its operations with surplus natural gas from U.S. shale, as reported by Reuters. The initiative comes amid an ongoing power war between artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and bitcoin mining operations.

MARA’s New Pilot Project Uses Excess Shale Gas to Boost Bitcoin Mining

MARA’s program, which launched last month, is designed to generate 25 megawatts of electricity using natural gas that would otherwise be wasted at shale oil sites in Texas and North Dakota. Gas, which is typically a byproduct of oil drilling, is often burned off because the infrastructure needed to transport it is lacking, according to the report.

By tapping into this energy source, MARA avoids the rising costs of relying on the regional grid, CEO Fred Thiel told Reuters' Laila Kearney. Kearney revealed that the pilot project marks the company's first foray into owning its own power. Along with reducing electricity costs, the project helps MARA earn carbon credits by cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Reuters details that these credits are earned because MARA captures gas that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere as methane, a significant contributor to global warming. While smaller bitcoin (BTC) miners have experimented with mobile setups in shale regions before, this is the first time a publicly traded miner like MARA has adopted such a model, according to Thiel’s discussion with Reuters.

As of 10:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, shares of the bitcoin mining company were up 0.44%. Over the past five days, MARA shares were up 6.92%, and over the past 30 days, the stock was up 12.38%. Earlier this year, MARA announced plans to begin buying BTC and holding the bitcoin it mines in reserve, following a similar strategy to Microstrategy, which has been using the approach since 2020.

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