TVA Awarded $18 Million in Credits to Knoxville Cryptocurrency Mine

Incentives helped draw crypto miners to the region, but now they're putting pressure on energy consumption.

Apr. 3, 2026 at 9:03am

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A close-up photograph of a polished, geometric metal cube representing a cryptocurrency mining rig, placed on a clean, monochromatic background and dramatically lit to convey the abstract concepts of corporate strategy and energy markets.A sleek, high-tech cryptocurrency mining rig stands as a symbol of the energy-intensive operations that have received lucrative incentives from the Tennessee Valley Authority.Knoxville Today

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) provided $18 million in electricity incentives over five years to Bitdeer, a cryptocurrency mining operation in Knoxville known as Carpenter Creek. The total amount paid out was closer to $21 million due to the miner's actual consumption. From 2020 to 2025, Carpenter Creek paid nearly $113 million to the Knoxville Utility Board (KUB) in utility charges, with nearly 20% of that offset by TVA incentive credits. The crypto mine also received a $125,000 grant from TVA.

Why it matters

Though TVA says it no longer seeks out data centers or crypto miners as customers, it did provide an unknown number of incentive contracts to those companies from about 2018 through 2023 that helped draw them to the region. Now those data centers and cryptocurrency mines are putting pressure on the energy consumption landscape, accounting for 18% of TVA's industrial power use as of 2025, up from just 1% in 2019.

The details

The resolution of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit shows TVA promised $18 million in electricity incentives over five years to Bitdeer, the cryptocurrency miner operating in Knoxville as Carpenter Creek. The total amount paid out was closer to $21 million due to the crypto miner's actual consumption. From 2020 to 2025, Carpenter Creek paid nearly $113 million to KUB in utility charges, with nearly 20% of that offset by TVA incentive credits. The crypto mine also received a $125,000 grant from TVA.

  • From 2020 to 2025, Carpenter Creek paid nearly $113 million to KUB in utility charges.
  • As of 2025, data centers and cryptocurrency mines accounted for 18% of TVA's industrial power use, up from just 1% in 2019.

The players

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

A federally owned electric utility that provides electricity for business customers and local power companies in parts of seven southeastern states, including Tennessee.

Bitdeer

A cryptocurrency mining company operating in Knoxville, Tennessee under the name Carpenter Creek.

Knoxville Utility Board (KUB)

The public utility that provides electricity, natural gas, water, and wastewater services to the Knoxville, Tennessee area.

Melanie Faizer

The reporter who filed the Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to obtain information about TVA's agreements with the crypto company.

Paul McAdoo

The attorney who represented Melanie Faizer in the lawsuit against TVA.

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What they’re saying

“There's no independent entity that looks over TVA's shoulder on this. There's nobody external to the agency that is reviewing their policy, whereas for somebody like Southern Company or Duke Energy … the regulators can have visibility on these incentive packages.”

— Stephen Smith, Executive Director, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy

“Our focus is to protect consumers from subsidizing energy for other customers.”

— Scott Fiedler, TVA Spokesperson

What’s next

Federal lawmakers are seeking more transparency from TVA, with U.S. Reps. Steve Cohen and Tim Burchett recently reintroducing the TVA Increase Rate of Participation Act to end what they describe as "obscure and opaque" decision-making by the federal utility.

The takeaway

The incentives provided by TVA to attract data centers and cryptocurrency miners to the region have had unintended consequences, as these energy-intensive operations now account for a significant portion of TVA's industrial power use. This has raised concerns about the impact on residential consumers and the need for greater transparency and oversight of TVA's economic development policies.