Quote from: fanatic26 on January 25, 2017, 07:58:11 PM

Quote from: QuintLeo on January 24, 2017, 10:56:04 PM

Quote from: Morbid on January 22, 2017, 09:48:37 AM

basically being in the western hemisphere you can barely compete.

Care to explain the large farms known to exist in the Western Hemisphere that ARE still competing?

Care to explain how many of us smaller farmers can still compete?

Your statement is WRONG on far too many levels.

There are a number in the pacific northwest that have been mentioned many times over. Go look at all the places in Chelan County WA alone. Smaller farmers cant really compete

How odd that many of us smaller farmers ARE in fact able to compete successfully - and no, I'm not in Chelan Coubnty though I am in one of the other 2 adjacent "very low cost" counties.

I've been profitable enough since I went full-time as a cryptocoin miner this past summer (after moving from Iowa) that I am currently looking for a bigger place with more electric available to expand into (I'm currently pretty much electric capasity capped in my current place) - if that's not able to compete with success as a small miner, then you have a VERY odd or a very NARROW definition of "success".

For you information "residential" and "small business" all-up rates in Chelan or Douglas counties are quite close to the final "all up" cost for industrial-scale users - they ALL come in at under 3c/kwh (Alcoa might have managed to negotiate under 2 for the very large Aluminum smelter complex they used to have in Chelan County, but I'd not BET on that after their up-front costs and usage fees were included There has to be SOME reason they shut that one down in favor of others elsewhere - possibly transportation costs for the ore and resulting products)
This is not factoring in the "high density surcharge" stuff that Chelan recently implimented that pretty much only affects large Cryptocoin mining farms, though it would appear that existing farms are getting hit with that on a "phase in" basis rather than immediately.

Grant County isn't quite good for small scale farmers, the residential and small business rate all-up is about half again the all-up rate for larger users - but at 4.5c/kwh or a hair less ALL UP, it's still easily possible for a small miner to make good money.

I can't seen any possible VALID reason for you to say us small miners can't compete here, given the actual facts of the matter.

Outside of the 3-county area, you MIGHT have a point about it being hard for small miners in the US to be competative.