A Tiny Texas Village Is About To Annex a Gigantic Bitcoin Mine

In Oak Valley, a sleepy colony successful agrarian Navarro County, Texas, determination is precise small of anything. A potholed way runs done its 2 quadrate miles of sun-beaten grassland, past a humble prefab assemblage halfway and a “poor excuse for a park,” arsenic the section politician describes it. Only around 400 people unrecorded successful Oak Valley. But contempt its diminutive size and fewer resources, the Texas hamlet is preparing to fold into its borders, done antithetic means, an industrial-scale bitcoin mine—a determination that could summation its yearly fund by arsenic overmuch arsenic fortyfold.

Four miles distant from Oak Valley connected a 265-acre parcel of land, nationalist crypto mining steadfast Riot Platforms is busily constructing what is acceptable to go the world’s largest bitcoin mining facility, according to the company. Once complete, it volition consume up to 1 gigawatt of energy, capable to powerfulness hundreds of thousands of homes.

The Riot installation presently sits connected a spot of unincorporated land, successful the jurisdiction of the Navarro County government. But the institution is successful the process of negotiating a deal, arsenic shown by a bid of email communications seen by WIRED, done which the crippled volition beryllium annexed by Oak Valley.

The annexation plan, which has yet to beryllium finalized, volition marque imaginable much-needed improvements to Oak Valley roads and different nationalist infrastructure. Nor volition it outgo Riot anything, due to the fact that the vigor institution serving the country volition ft the bill. For Riot, it is simply a nationalist relations gambit, meant to curry favour with section residents and region officials lasting successful the mode of a lucrative discount connected its spot taxes. Millions of dollars perchance rides connected its quality to garner section enactment successful Navarro County earlier a last determination connected its abatement exertion is reached.

Riot declined to remark connected the imaginable of an annexation by Oak Valley. Brian Morgenstern, caput of nationalist argumentation astatine Riot, says lone that “an annexation should beryllium bully for each sides.” “We privation to marque definite we are being bully neighbors and bringing affirmative impacts to the community,” helium says.

To money nationalist works, a township similar Oak Valley has to trust predominantly connected wealth collected from the energy supplier successful speech for the usage of section rights-of-way. These alleged franchise fees are calculated arsenic a percent of residents’ vigor bills. In mean circumstances, Oak Valley collects astir $9,000 successful franchise fees per year, which makes up 70 percent of a meager full fund that is insufficient to screen elemental infrastructure improvements.

“Oak Valley has nary money,” says David Brewer, a commissioner successful the Navarro County Commissioner’s Court, the governing assemblage of the district. “Our region fund is highly tight, truthful we can’t assistance immoderate of the areas we privation to.”

However, if Oak Valley succeeds successful annexing the energy-hungry Riot facility, says Brewer, it volition hoover up franchise fees “to the tune of a quarter- to half-a-million dollars a year” erstwhile the 1-gigawatt works is complete.

Leading the propulsion for the annexation is Max Taylor, the politician of Oak Valley, who declined to beryllium interviewed for this story. After a change of legislation successful 2019, municipalities successful Texas tin nary longer annex a parcel of onshore by force, truthful they indispensable question support from the landowner. But Taylor appears to person had small occupation convincing Riot: “This task has my afloat support,” wrote David Schatz, elder vice president of operations astatine Riot, successful an email to Taylor connected June 25.