Kenya’s Largest Power Provider Plans to Deliver Access to Geothermal Power to Bitcoin Miners

KenGen, Kenya’s largest producer of electricity, has announced plans to attract Bitcoin miners to use its geothermal energy. According to the report, the company will provide its surplus geothermal power to miners.

• So far, Kenya does not have any cryptocurrency mining farms. It is believed that the company is reaching out to Bitcoin miners about energy purchases that are situated in the US and Europe. The move aligns with the broader industry’s push that seeks to address the carbon emissions from crypto mining operations.
• KenGen is the leading supplier of electricity in the country and claims to have 86% green energy derived from renewable resources (including hydro and wind besides geothermal) while the rest 14% is thermal.
• It has not disclosed details of the surplus capacity that will be issued to the Bitcoin miners.
• The plan is to have miners set up in an energy park at the company’s main geothermal power station in Olkaria, Naivasha, 123 km from the capital Nairobi. During an interview, the company’s geothermal development director, Peketsa Mwangi, said,

“We have the space and the power is near, which helps with stability.”

• Tackling climate change has become the biggest conversation after China’s biggest crackdown on cryptocurrency mining firms.
• While these entities may not have shifted their base entirely, many did find friendlier jurisdictions in the US and other parts of Europe.
• While Kenya, for one, does not host any mining firms, an estimated potential 10,000 MegaWatt (MW) of geothermal energy capacity makes the eastern African nation an ideal hub.