Utilization of Green Energy for Blockchain Computing: Mining Equipment

The RECKON project focuses on optimizing the utilization of renewable energy sources for the operation of computing infrastructure providing blockchain services. These services facilitate secure and decentralized data sharing without the need for intermediaries, finding applications across a wide spectrum of fields - from financial technology to digital identity management. However, their high-energy intensity remains a critical challenge, which is being addressed through intelligent energy consumption and distribution management.

Research activities within the project primarily include maximizing green energy efficiency, optimizing energy flows within distribution grids, and developing scalable blockchain systems capable of adaptively utilizing available computing capacity. Another important aspect is the reduction of operational costs for cloud services and the improvement of their economic efficiency, which has a fundamental impact on the practical implementation of these technologies.

The practical application of the aforementioned principles is reflected in the design and procurement of mining-computing units, known as "mining rigs," which must be optimized not only for performance but also for energy efficiency. Based on the established project requirements, a mining-computing machine was designed utilizing six Radeon RX 5700 XT (8 GB) graphics cards. The mining and computing operations are coordinated by a system based on an AMD Ryzen 3 1200 processor in combination with an MSI B450 Gaming Plus MAX motherboard, which ensures stable operation for multiple GPU units. This configuration currently represents a balanced ratio between acquisition costs, processing power, and power consumption. For development and testing purposes, the Linux-based HiveOS operating system was installed on the system. Initial testing of this setup was conducted by executing calculations of the Etchash hashing algorithm, an open-source algorithm that powers cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum (ETH). During testing, a performance of approximately 330 MH/s was achieved in pooled mode, with the average power consumption of the GPU units totaling 600 W.

Within the framework of the RECKON project, the mining rig is not merely a standalone computing unit but a component of a broader energy ecosystem, where performance is dynamically managed based on the availability of renewable energy. Properly designed and configured hardware is therefore a key prerequisite for achieving both the economic and environmental sustainability of blockchain technologies.