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MALTATODAY 5 December 2018 Midweek

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NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 5 DECEMBER 2018 2 MATTHEW VELLA THE Azerbaijani state oil com- pany Socar was planning to use land inside the Delimara power station so that it could start mining cryptocurrencies, a very energy-intensive activity. According to emails that were leaked to the late Daphne Caru- ana Galizia, in August 2017, a Socar representative asked Electrogas – the company that provides LNG to Malta's power plant, and which includes So- car as a shareholder – that the Azeris wanted to learn whether a space at Delimara could be used for "Bitcoin mining". The email was tabled in the House by Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi during a motion in the House discussing the Na- tional Audit Office's investiga- tion of the Delimara gas plant's tendering and commissioning. Bitcoin is one of the world's cryptocurrencies. It is mined using high-powered comput- ers that solve complex compu- tational math problems. Since mining can provide a solid stream of revenue, the power- hungry machines are constant- ly running to provide revenue, causing the energy consump- tion of the Bitcoin network to grow to epic proportions: over 42 TeraWatt hours of electric- ity in a year, placing it ahead of New Zealand and Hungary and just behind Peru, according to estimates from Digiconomist. That's akin to carbon emissions from around one million trans- atlantic flights. In the Socar email to Elec- trogas, Turab Musayev, who is also an Electrogas director, asks Catherine Halpin whether a small plant would be required to generate the power for the Bitcoin mining enterprise at Delimara. "I think in general these in- stallations are a difficult busi- ness case and usually built in much colder climates," Halpin said, forecasting a possible 2020 installation date. She also said getting a permit for a cryptocurrency mining centre would require a "tidy- up exercise on the Electrogas permits" with both Enemalta and lenders about using gas for reasons outside the generation of energy. "The biggest key in all this (assuming the financials make sense) will be Enemalta – for lease of land, support in permits and approval of the in- stallation." She listed various options for leasing the land, among them a lease to Electrogas, which is currently leasing the land at Delimara for just €11.65 per square metre. "Our EGM lease arrangement is quite favourable at €11.65/m2 per annum. Com- mercially you would expect to pay a multiple of that." An alternative would be to locate the data site anywhere in Malta, but install the new turbine at Delimara and nego- tiate with Enemalta to export the electricity to the data ware- house. But that would lose the poten- tial benefit of having access to glycol cooling to keep the min- ing computers from overheat- ing. The glycol line to the re- gasification plant would have to be 'broken' so that it could also be fed to the crypto-mining en- gines which Halpin said would impact Electrogas's warranty. "Seawater could also be used. This would be helpful in the use of a completely different site to Enemalta. However, Malta is very touchy about seawater usage and tends to hold up ap- plications for any new CW in- takes," Halpin said. Halpin also proposed to rent or acquire the Delimara power station car park. "Being in- side Delimara Power Station grounds makes the permit- ting and construction activities more difficult, and we would need Enemalta buy-in. As such they would need to either be party to the whole thing, or compensated somehow so they work with us (especially if we want this up and running quickly)." According to Halpin, a 1,100sq.m room would draw in as much as 6 MegaWatts in power, for 2,500 servers. "We know we have some spare out- put from D4 [the gas plant] which we could use if it was a small-scale implementation (1 or 2 MWs)." A dedicated engine would certainly need gas, Halpin said. "It would appear we have am- ple capacity on the gas side. However, I need to check how much of that is contractually Enemalta's, how much is due to the efficiency of D4 (i.e. EGM's spare capacity) and how much is over-design." Leaked Electrogas email reveals interest in using Delimara for Bitcoin mining The faster the machines are plugged in, the sooner they can begin gulping down electricity and turning it into money. Racks of Bitcoin mining rigs run the length of seven warehouses at Bitmain's Ordos facility, which is in a constant state of upgrade Socar director asked Electrogas whether Delimara land and plant could be used for energy-hungry computers to mine for Bitcoin NINE international freedom of expres- sion, press freedom, and professional journalists' organisations have demand- ed a redoubling of efforts in finding who commissioned the assassination of jour- nalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. In a statement, the organisations con- demned what they said was a "lack of jus- tice" for Caruana Galizia one year after three arrests were made in connection with the case. Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb that detonated near her home in Bidnija, Malta on 16 October 2017. On 4 December 2017, 10 people were arrested in connection with Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder, of whom three men were charged with murder, the criminal use of explosives, criminal conspiracy, and involvement in organ- ised crime. "However, a full year later, the three men have still not yet been brought to tri- al, and the investigation has failed to yield any further tangible results," Reporters Without Borders director Rebecca Vin- cent said. The accused have been charged in court and are currently undergoing a compila- tion of evidence procedure, although they have mounted constitutional challenges in a bid to delay the ongoing process. "We reiterate our support for the Caruana Galizia family's call for a public inquiry into whether Daphne Caruana Galizia's assassination could have been prevented, and to determine whether any changes to law, policies, or practices are required in order to protect the lives of journalists in Malta. We again urge Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to es- tablish without delay an inquiry in line with the Third Opinion published on 30 November by Bhatt Murphy Solicitors and Doughty Street Chambers," Vincent said. The organisations insisted that free- dom of expression in Malta was deterio- rating, citing as an example the Maltese authorities' action to prevent supporters from congregating around the protest memorial honouring Caruana Galizia; or libel suits that were filed against Caruana Galizia, now assumed by her heirs, that have not been retracted since her assas- sination. "We again urge the Maltese authori- ties to redouble efforts to identify and prosecute all those involved in the assas- sination of Caruana Galizia, including the masterminds behind the attack; im- mediately establish a public inquiry into whether Caruana Galizia's assassination could have been prevented and whether lessons can be learned for the future; [and] cease all forms of attack against Caruana Galizia posthumously..." The statement was signed by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Committee to Protect Journalists, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), European Federation of Journalists, In- ternational Press Institute, IFEX, Index on Censorship, PEN America and PEN International. 'Malta must redouble efforts to identify masterminds in Caruana Galizia murder'

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