Alcoa, the largest US aluminum producer, is on the verge of selling its dormant Massena East smelter in upstate New York to New York Digital Investment Group, a Bitcoin mining firm, as part of its strategy to divest idle assets and leverage the demand for industrial sites with readily available energy. According to CEO Bill Oplinger, the company is in advanced discussions, with expectations of closing the deal mid-year, as reported by Bloomberg. The Massena East site, situated along the St.
Lawrence River, has been inactive since 2014 due to high operational costs and global competition. Its appeal, however, lies not in aluminum production but in its existing power infrastructure, which includes dedicated substations and transmission lines capable of drawing significant amounts of electricity around the clock. This infrastructure is particularly attractive to bitcoin miners and data center developers, as it can significantly reduce the time required to secure access to the power grid. Furthermore, the site benefits from access to hydropower from the New York Power Authority, offering a low-cost and carbon-neutral energy source that is highly sought after by companies seeking to minimize their environmental footprint.
This transaction reflects a larger trend, as seen earlier in the year when Century Aluminum sold a Kentucky smelter to TeraWulf, which intends to develop a digital infrastructure campus supporting high-performance computing and artificial intelligence applications.