Kyrgyzstan intends to build a new facility for cryptocurrency mining at one of the country’s hydroelectric stations. The project aims to minimize the power plant’s electricity losses by utilizing its full generating capacity that currently exceeds that of the transmission network.
Kyrgyzstan to Power Crypto Mining Hardware With Surplus Green Energy
President of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov, told local media this week he had approved the construction of a mining farm digital assets with a planned capacity of up to 30 MW at the site of the country’s Kambar-Ata hydroelectric power plant (HPP).
The building of the coin mining facility will require $20 million and the funds will be provided by an investor, Kyrgyzstan’s head of state added, speaking to the Kabar news agency. All processes will be automated and controlled by power engineers, Japarov noted.
The president also stated that the Kambar-Ata HPP has been in operation since 2010. It’s capable of producing 120 MW of electricity but only 90 MW can be currently used by consumers as the transfer is limited by the electric grid’s capacity.
As a result, in the past 13 years, the Central Asian nation has lost 6.816 billion kWh of electricity worth approximately 3.275 billion Kyrgyzstani som (over $37 million), Sadyr Japarov said. He emphasized that once it starts running, the crypto mining farm will eliminate these losses.
The region attracted numerous mining enterprises following China’s crackdown on the industry two years ago. In neighboring Kazakhstan, the influx of miners was blamed for the country’s growing power deficit and a law limiting their electricity consumption entered into force this year.
Kyrgyzstan has previously shut down illegal mining facilities and in late 2021 raised electricity rates for miners. In 2022, a dedicated law provided a legal definition for virtual assets, including cryptocurrencies, banned crypto payments, and introduced taxation for investment income and mining proceeds. The legislation also imposed a registration regime for mining businesses.
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