Bitdeer Technologies Group has acquired 200 acres at the former Alcoa Corp. site in Milam County, committing $100 million to expand its footprint at the large industrial campus. The company, which is active in cryptocurrency mining, intends to use the newly acquired land to grow its artificial intelligence and high-performance computing operations, according to reporting from the Austin Business Journal.
With this transaction, Bitdeer stated that it now owns and operates a total of 255 acres at the former Alcoa location near Rockdale, roughly 70 miles northeast of Austin. The additional land is positioned to support an expansion of the company’s existing infrastructure on the campus, where it has been active for several years.
As part of its growth plans at the site, Bitdeer plans to scale its grid operations from 563 megawatts to 742 megawatts. This planned increase in power usage underscores the energy-intensive nature of the company’s artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and cryptocurrency mining activities. The company also noted that its operations at the campus will benefit from access to a dedicated water supply.
Bitdeer’s presence at Sandow Lakes Ranch, which includes portions of the former Alcoa property, began in 2019. Since then, its activities have become a key component of the site’s transition from a legacy industrial use to a more diversified employment base. The company’s continued investment reinforces the role of digital infrastructure users in repurposing large former industrial assets.
Local economic development efforts at and around the former Alcoa campus have more than replaced the jobs lost when Alcoa exited the area. In addition to Bitdeer’s operations, the broader campus is earmarked for a mix of future uses, including residential, retail, office, hospitality and leisure facilities. Plans envision these uses being integrated across the property and linked by a series of lakes, positioning the former single-user industrial site as a multiuse destination anchored by both traditional employers and digital infrastructure operators.
