Alcoa, the largest aluminum producer in the US, is on the verge of selling its dormant Massena East smelter in upstate New York to New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), a leading Bitcoin mining firm, as part of its strategy to offload inactive assets and tap into the demand for industrial sites with readily available energy infrastructure. According to CEO Bill Oplinger, the company is in advanced negotiations and expects the deal to be finalized by mid-year, as reported by Bloomberg. The site, situated along the St. Lawrence River, has been idle since 2014 due to high operational costs and intense global competition.
However, its appeal lies not in aluminum production but in its existing power infrastructure, which includes dedicated substations and transmission lines capable of drawing large amounts of electricity around the clock. For Bitcoin miners and data center developers, acquiring such sites can significantly reduce the time and effort required to secure access to the power grid. Additionally, the Massena East site has access to low-cost, carbon-free hydropower from the New York Power Authority, making it an attractive location for companies seeking to minimize their environmental footprint. This deal reflects a larger trend, as seen earlier this year when Century Aluminum sold a Kentucky smelter to TeraWulf, which plans to develop a digital infrastructure campus supporting high-performance computing and artificial intelligence applications.