If you thought that the story of 7,500 bitcoins in a landfill was over, it’s not. Now, the city of Newport in Wales wants to build a solar power plant there, and the owner of HDD — wants to buy the landfill.
As reported by BBCthe city council is shutting down the landfill in the 2025-26 fiscal year, Newport received permission to build a solar power plant instead. However, James Howells, who lost a huge amount of bitcoins on a discarded drive many years ago, offered to buy the landfill «as is» instead. Given the lack of success of his previous attempts.
«If the Newport City Council is willing, I would potentially be interested in purchasing the landfill «as is». The fact is, there is a lot at stake» — Howells expressed surprise and cautious optimism.
Solar energy is expected to power the electric garbage trucks. Newport already has 7 electric trucks in its fleet and hopes to phase out diesel vehicles over the coming years. The waste recycling center adjacent to the landfill will continue to operate. On the other hand, in the case of a buyout, the city would save money on closing the site, assuming the power plant is built elsewhere. Howells has not yet received a response to his offer.
In January, we reported on court decision in Howells’ lawsuit against the city with a demand to force the authorities to grant him the right to excavate the landfill. Legally, he is not even the owner of the HDD with the e-wallet — in its refusal, the court explained that by law, the dumped garbage belongs to the city. In October 2024 James Howells demanded the right to search for the drive from Newport in a landfill or compensate £495 million «damage». The story of the lost fortune stretches back to 2013, when James lost his hard drive and became an Internet legend. Back then, he accidentally threw away the drive, which he has been trying to get back for 12 years.