• Riot Platforms reported that 17,040 rigs deployed at its operations in Texas were offline due to severe winter weather in the state.
• Two of the buildings at its Whinstone facility in Rockdale, Texas were damaged in December as temperatures dropped below freezing.
• The company reported producing 740 Bitcoin worth roughly $17 million at the time of publication.
Riot Platforms Experiences Severe Weather Damage
Riot Platforms — formerly Riot Blockchain — reported that 17,040 rigs deployed at its operations in Texas were offline due to “severe winter weather” in the state. In a Feb. 6 announcement, Riot reported that two of the buildings at its Whinstone facility in Rockdale, Texas were damaged in December as the state experienced days of sub-zero temperatures.
Temperature Drops Below Freezing
From Dec. 22 to Dec. 25, temperatures across many parts of Texas — and the United States — dropped below freezing. Some sections of piping in Buildings F and G were damaged during this period leading to a decrease in hash rate capacity by 2.5 EH/s with later repairs restoring 0.6 EH/s back up again.
Texas Experiences Major Ice Storm
Though many parts of the United States experienced severe temperature drops in December amid holiday travel, major cities including Dallas and Austin also went through a major ice storm earlier this year on February 2nd which left thousands without power and caused extensive damage to property and roads alike due to accumulated ice weight on tree branches and limbs breaking power lines .
Hash Rate Capacity is Affected
According to Riot, there were 82,656 rigs running with a hash rate capacity of 9.3 EH/s as of Jan 31st when it was announced that 740 Bitcoin (worth roughly $17 million) had been produced from these mines . This meant that target goal set for reaching 12.5 EH/s capacity by Q1 2023 was delayed due to damages caused by extreme weather conditions .
Conclusion
The combination of freezing temperatures throughout December along with an intense ice storm earlier this year has resulted in significant damage done towards mining facilities owned by Riot Platforms located within Texas which has affected their hash rate capacity significantly resulting a delay for reaching 12.5 EH/s target goal originally set for Q1 2023 .