Kenya is encouraging cryptocurrency companies to set up offices near its main geothermal power plant and take advantage of the surplus geothermal power produced.
Acknowledging the great amounts of power needed to “mine” cryptocurrencies, the country’s energy production company KenGen has extended an invitation to bitcoin mining companies to consider setting shop in the country. Kenya’s main geothermal production plant is located in Naivasha, about 120 km from the capital, Nairobi.
Kenya is the top producer of geothermal energy in Africa with an equipment capacity of only 863 MW. Along the Rift Valley circuit alone, an estimated 10,000 MW of geothermal energy lies largely dormant.
Peketsa Mwangi, KenGen’s geothermal development director said that they have been receiving requests from miners who want to purchase its energy.
“We’ll have them here because we have the space, and the power is near, which helps with stability,” Mwangi said.
It has not been revealed who these interested energy buyers are, but they are likely to be European or American companies considering there are no crypto mining companies In Kenya.
“Their power requests vary; some of them had asked to start with 20MW to be later graduated. Crypto mining is very energy-intensive.”
Cypro mining is an energy-intensive affair that has seen a lot of criticism levelled against the technology due to its effects on the environment. The idea of utilizing Kenya’s excess energy in crypto mining is certainly a move in the right direction.
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