Star Trek actor William Shatner to represent Canada-based bitcoin mining facility

William Shatner, known for playing the role of Captain Kirk in the hit science fiction series Star Trek, has become the latest celebrity to venture into or promote cryptocurrencies.

Shatner is representing an alternate energy developer company named Solar Alliance.

Solar Alliance is an alternate energy developer that is planning to build a solar-powered bitcoin mining facility.

As per a report by Chicago Tribune, the mining facility will be based in Illinois, United States.

The Canada-based company will use an existing factory in the town of Murphysboro to host a solar panel array.

Confirming the news, Shatner said: "The concept is so, I guess the word is bizarre. You have to blank your mind and say, 'What is blockchain, again? How does mining operate, again?' The concepts are really strange, and yet when you begin to grasp it, it makes sense."

However, it has to be noted that Solar Alliance is building the facility to support mining, and it does not intend to mine bitcoin itself.

Instead, the company will lease the infrastructure to mining firms after the construction of solar panel is completed.

Solar Alliance has not yet confirmed the date by when it will finish renovating the facility and installing the panels.

However, Chief Executive Officer Jason Bak said that it plans to start finding potential tenants by the end of 2018.

He also said that the company intends to dedicate some of the space inside the building to an educational venture.

Here, students will get to learn how to install solar panels and about how they work.

Shatner, who resides in California, said he will visit the facility when its construction is completed.

He said: "It's an interesting idea to see it at work because ... it's so esoteric that it's difficult to understand."