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ASIC mining articles and advice

Sunport and MintGreen: a solar-plus-Bitcoin-heating collaboration

MintGreen and Sunport Structures describe a collaboration to combine solar infrastructure with Digital Boiler heating for commercial, residential, industrial and agricultural customers.

Renewables and heat reuse

North AmericaAnnounced / proposedReviewed 29 September 2026

MintGreen and Sunport Structures describe a collaboration to combine solar infrastructure with Digital Boiler heating for commercial, residential, industrial and agricultural customers.

Project at a glance
Solar + managed heat
Source date and context
Undated agreement page; reviewed September 2026
Published financial detail
The sources reviewed do not include full project accounts.
Our comparison
A UK example per 1,000 miner kWh

About 5 minutes to read

Bringing solar structures and heating into one offer

Sunport and MintGreen's collaboration combines solar structures with Digital Boiler heating. The announcement covers possible commercial, residential, industrial and agricultural customers. It does not name an operating site or publish measured returns. The idea is relevant to renewable generators, but its value has to be tested against the electricity and heating needs of a particular property.

“solar infrastructure + managed heating + stronger project economics”

MintGreen, description of the Sunport collaboration · Read the source

Solar generation and heat demand must overlap

Solar generationcomputinguseful heat and mining income

A solar array may produce its largest surplus on days when a building needs little heat. A customer with regular hot water or process demand could be a better match than one relying on winter space heating. Existing solar power has an export value to consider; a new array also needs to recover its construction cost. Storage and grid imports should be counted where they are needed.

Photovoltaic canopy photographed from beneath
Sunport Structures / MintGreen · Original source. Solar-structure photography from the partnership announcement; completed mining integration is not established.

What the numbers could look like in the UK

The calculation below uses assumed UK prices to show how the costs fit together. It is our example, not this project’s reported earnings. Replace the inputs with current machine estimates and the costs at your own site.

Illustrative UK calculation

Income and running costs

1,000 kWh used by miners, plus 50 kWh for pumps and fans. All amounts in pounds.

Gross mining income£80.00
Useful heat value£36.00
Export income forgone£52.50
Pool fee£1.60
Other running costs£10.00

Operating contributionBefore equipment and installation costs

£51.905.19p per miner kWh

Here, using the electricity for mining gives up a 5p/kWh export payment. That cost includes the 50 kWh used by pumps and fans. It is the value of an alternative sale, so it is not also charged as a grid electricity bill. The example assumes the generation equipment already exists.

Assumptions used in this example
Mining income 8p per miner kWh; an assumed rate, not a live earnings estimate
Electricity 5p/kWh × 1,050 kWh = £52.50
Pool fee 2% of gross mining income
Useful heat 60% of miner electricity = 600 kWh; valued at 6p per delivered kWh
Other running costs £10 per 1,000 miner kWh; an allowance to replace with your own costs
Costs still to add Equipment, installation, finance, tax, depreciation, major replacements and any costs above the allowance

The contribution is what remains from mining income and useful heat after the stated running costs. It is not net profit: the equipment and other excluded costs still have to be recovered. Pumps and fans use electricity but earn no mining income in this calculation.

If mining income rises or fallsOperating contribution per 1,000 miner kWh
Gross income per miner kWh Without heat value With useful heat
5p −£13.50 £22.50
8p Chart example £15.90 £51.90
11p £45.30 £81.30
Mining income needed to cover running costs
2.70pper miner kWh
Highest electricity cost or export value supported
9.94pper total electricity kWh

These are two ways to read the same example. Adding equipment costs or a larger maintenance allowance raises the income needed and reduces the electricity price the project can afford.

Compare heating options and work out annual costs

Use the heating system you would actually choose as the comparison. For example, a heat pump using electricity at 20p/kWh with a seasonal COP of 3 has an electricity cost of about 6.67p per kWh of heat. A resistance heater at that tariff uses 20p per kWh of heat. These are calculation examples, rather than measurements from this project.

For an annual estimate, use the miner electricity expected during hours when running makes sense. Scale the contribution by annual miner kWh divided by 1,000, then deduct fixed annual costs. Recalculate if electricity prices, mining income or usable heat change.

Simple payback is the total installed cost divided by positive annual cash contribution. There is no payback under a scenario with zero or negative contribution. The sources reviewed here do not provide the full project accounts needed to calculate an actual payback for this installation.

Cost each part of the installation

Test the overlap between solar availability and useful heat demand before projecting savings.

Obtain a named-site design, interval generation forecast, thermal-load profile and itemised integration quote. Identify grid imports and any storage needed outside solar hours.

Questions worth asking

  • What is the summer destination for heat?
  • Does the proposal remain attractive after paying for the solar structure and backup heating?

Try your own electricity and heat figures

Compare available miners and dated earnings estimates. Include heat only where you can use it or have a customer for it.

Model renewable miningCompare with grid export

Sources and photographs

Sources checked on 29 September 2026. Project facts and quotations come from the publications below; the UK calculations and practical assessment are The Mining Shop’s analysis. This article is based on published material, rather than a site visit.

  1. MintGreen and Sunport collaboration

Photographs: Sunport Structures / MintGreen (source).

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