What a cheap mining power quote leaves out
Compare mining power quotes using usable capacity, operating costs, infrastructure funding and delivered energy. A worked example shows the difference.
A low mining power quote is a useful starting point. To compare it with another site, you need to know what the number buys, where electricity is measured, and which bills sit outside it.
That matters whether you are finding your first location or moving an existing fleet. A site with an attractive energy price can still require construction, uncertain operating hours or costs that the buyer must carry separately. A more complete quote may look higher because it includes those items.
Before ranking sites by cents per kilowatt-hour, put them on the same basis: electricity delivered at a named meter, over a stated period, with each cost and responsibility identified. Here is how we would screen the offer.
Start with the product and the meter
Establish whether the seller is offering gas, generated electricity, a powered pad or hosting. Those require different comparisons.
A gas price in dollars per million Btu is a fuel price. Converting it into an electricity cost requires the generator's fuel consumption per unit of electricity, called its heat rate. EIA defines heat rate in Btu per net kilowatt-hour generated. Fuel cost alone still leaves generation equipment and other costs to account for. EIA: power plant efficiency
For an electricity offer, ask where the meter sits and whether losses, cooling and other site loads fall before or after it. Record additional delivery, demand, minimum-payment or hosting charges if they apply. Have the seller confirm what is included; avoid adding the same expense twice.
Ask how much power you can actually use
A facility's published capacity is a research lead. It does not establish what a new mining customer can obtain.
EIA distinguishes the manufacturer's nameplate rating from tested seasonal capacity. It also distinguishes gross generation from net generation, which subtracts electricity used to operate the plant. EIA: capacity and generation
The commercial follow-up is specific: how many megawatts could be allocated to your project, at which connection point, from what date, and subject to which existing commitments? Request the equipment rating and recent operating records. Keep the offered allocation separate from the plant's total size.
Treat unanswered items as unknown. A database entry cannot confirm spare capacity, an owner's willingness to sell or permission to connect a mining load.
Find the infrastructure and maintenance bill
For landfill gas, treatment is part of the system. EPA describes moisture and contaminant removal before energy conversion; treatment requirements depend on the end use. Contaminants such as siloxanes can affect equipment performance and maintenance. That makes current gas analysis and equipment requirements useful screening documents. EPA: project technology options, sections 3.1–3.2
Ask who owns, funds and maintains each major item: gas treatment, generators, switchgear, transformers, the pad, containers and networking. Identify what exists, what needs repair and what must be built. Photographs help document visible equipment; they do not establish its condition or capacity.
Owner-funded construction can reduce your upfront cash requirement. Check how the agreement recovers that investment through rates, lease payments or other obligations. Separately budget your share of maintenance, consumables and major repairs. EPA's project cost model separates installed capital from annual operating costs; its default estimates are based on typical designs, rather than a quote for a particular property. EPA: LFGcost-Web
Run the arithmetic at more than one operating level
Illustration only: every number below is invented. This is not an available offer, market benchmark or customer result.
Assume a 30-day month and a total site draw of 1,000 kW at the billing meter while running, with zero draw while stopped. Assume electricity costs $0.020/kWh, additional buyer-paid maintenance is budgeted at $0.008/kWh, and fixed site and infrastructure lease payments total $6,000 per month. These items do not overlap. The electricity price is already for electricity at the meter; it is not a fuel price.
At 90% operating hours:
- Energy: 1,000 kW × 720 hours × 0.90 = 648,000 kWh.
- Electricity: 648,000 × $0.020 = $12,960.
- Additional maintenance budget: 648,000 × $0.008 = $5,184.
- Listed monthly costs: $12,960 + $5,184 + $6,000 = $24,144.
- Listed cost per metered kWh: $24,144 ÷ 648,000 = 3.73¢ rounded.
At 60% operating hours, consumption falls to 432,000 kWh. The same formula gives ($12,096 + $6,000) ÷ 432,000 = 4.19¢/kWh. Fixed payments now spread across fewer units of electricity.
This simplified subtotal excludes mining hardware, staffing, insurance, taxes, financing and any unlisted construction or operating expense. It does not calculate mining revenue, profitability or a complete hosting price. It assumes the variable maintenance budget scales exactly with consumption; actual maintenance contracts may differ.
For a real offer, request outage and curtailment records, expected notice periods and the payment rules while stopped. Test lower operating hours and higher repair costs before committing capital. Annual generation totals alone cannot describe the timing of interruptions your fleet would experience.
Use the free printable site-screening checklist to record the evidence and unanswered questions for each location.
Turn missing answers into a research brief
A useful shortlist shows the evidence, its date, the unresolved questions and the next check. It should help you decide where further diligence is justified.
Proton's paid Custom Site Search and Existing Site Review organize that early research around your U.S. location, load, budget and operating requirements. Our focus is landfill and stranded gas, with other sources considered for the client's brief. Research does not certify engineering feasibility or secure energy rights.
Find a site or request a review. You can also explore mining assumptions in the calculator, keeping site expenses outside its model in your separate project budget.
Sources checked September 20, 2026. The worked example is Proton's own hypothetical arithmetic.
Sources
Working out whether machines beat buying the coin?
The comparison depends entirely on your assumptions, so we do not print one number and call it the answer. Put yours in and see where the crossover lands.