Pig slurry powers AI in new farm income venture

A pig farm in north-west England is using electricity generated from slurry-fed anaerobic digestion to power artificial-intelligence computers under a diversification model promising farmers higher energy returns.

Easy Compute has begun placing high-performance computing equipment at farms and other renewable-energy sites through its Green Compute network.

The company builds, installs and operates the hardware, which businesses can rent for AI and other computing-intensive work.

Anaerobic digestion breaks down slurry and other organic material to produce biogas.

That gas can then be used in a combined heat and power unit to generate electricity, some of which is being used on the farm to run computer servers.

Rather than exporting all available electricity to the grid, Green Compute allows participating farms to use it on site for computing work.

Easy Compute compares the arrangement to “an Airbnb for computers”, with processing capacity rented to businesses as required.

The company claims renewable electricity exported to the grid typically earns farmers between 8p and 12p per kilowatt-hour.

Using the same electricity for AI computing could generate returns of up to ten times that amount, according to the business.

Easy Compute also claims the higher income could reduce the payback period for an anaerobic digestion plant and associated equipment from around 12 to 15 years to approximately four.

Its highest-performing farm partners, which have invested in larger installations, are reportedly earning tens of thousands of pounds a month from computing.

However, the company did not provide independently audited evidence, farm-by-farm performance figures or detailed operating costs alongside the claims.

Actual returns are likely to depend on factors including electricity output, computing demand, hardware capacity and the commercial terms agreed with each farm.

The announcement also did not explain whether participating farms must contribute towards computer equipment, broadband connections, cooling, maintenance or site security.

It remains unclear how revenue is divided between Green Compute and the farm business.

Alongside conventional rental income, the computers can connect to decentralised AI networks such as Bittensor.

The blockchain-based network rewards contributors of computing power and machine intelligence using its TAO cryptocurrency.

Green Compute said this allows farm-based equipment to generate rental income from business customers and cryptocurrency rewards when commercial demand is lower.

That would keep the hardware operating rather than allowing it to remain idle between customer workloads.

Cryptocurrency earnings can vary according to token values, network rules and demand.

Easy Compute did not set out how this volatility, tax treatment or conversion into pounds would affect the income received by farmers.

Customers renting processing capacity can pay conventionally or use Green Compute Coin, the platform’s own token.

The company says customers using the token receive a 10% discount on computing credits and confirmation that the electricity behind their workload comes from verified renewable generation.

It did not provide details of how the token is valued, traded or protected from fluctuations in the announcement.

The initiative comes amid growing concern over the electricity and water consumed by large AI data centres.

Green Compute describes its model as a lower-carbon alternative, distributing computing hardware across renewable-generation sites rather than concentrating it in a small number of large facilities.

Every site joining the network must provide evidence that its electricity comes from renewable sources before it can begin earning, according to the company.

The first installations are in the UK and use biogas generated from agricultural waste.

It is not clear whether the electricity used by the first farm would otherwise have been exported to the grid, curtailed or used elsewhere on the holding.

Josh Riddett, chief executive of Easy Compute and Green Compute, said agricultural waste could help meet demand for lower-carbon computing power.

“The best clean AI on the market is quite literally running on pig muck,” he said.

“We take waste that a farm already has, turn it into clean power, and point that power at the computers the AI industry is desperate for.”

Riddett said the model could provide farmers with stronger returns than conventional grid exports while opening an additional cryptocurrency income stream.

“The farmer earns far more than they would from the grid - and now they can earn cryptocurrency on top, through networks like Bittensor,” he said.

Easy Compute is inviting other renewable-powered farms and energy sites across the UK to join the network.

Prospective participants would need to examine the installation costs, electricity commitments, income-sharing arrangements, hardware liabilities and exposure to digital-asset markets before entering an agreement.