Armenia will invite cryptocurrency miners in order to set up their hardware at an outdated thermal power station. TPP will be retired and it is planned that the government rents it to mining companies as well as other industrial businesses.
Hrazdan TPP equipment was deemed inefficient and obsolete. It produces high-priced electricity. Armenian authorities have taken the decision to close down the plant. Other, more profitable companies will have access to its premises and infrastructure (including power lines and pipelines).
Sputnik Armenia reports that the plan to lease out the former thermal station was approved by the Commission for Regulation of Public Services at its Wednesday meeting. According to Sputnik Armenia, a company that makes refrigeration units had already made arrangements for the transfer of some production to the TPP.
A free economic zone, Ecos, has been created in another area of the plant and it is currently open. This area will allow crypto farmers to be established by entities involved in digital currency extraction. In 2018, Armenia passed a law that legalizes crypto mining.
The mining sites will still have enough electricity even after the Hrazdan TPP has been decommissioned. Gazprom, a Russian company, built a new thermal power station with four power-generating units called Hrazdan-5. In November 2021, another TPP was completed by the Italian company Renco and Germany’s Siemens.
Armenia now boasts three new thermal power stations thanks to its state-run Yerevan TPP. According to the report, the electricity generated by these stations is much more costly than that produced by the Armenian hydroelectric power plant and the Armenian nuclear power station west.
The tiny nation of Caucasus, however, exports approximately 75% to Iran. Iran supplies Armenia with low-cost natural gas that is used for power generation. After the 2023 construction of the new transmission line connecting Armenia to the Islamic Republic, this cooperation will grow.
Iran has recognized cryptocurrency mining in 2019 as legal industry activity. The sector’s energy needs have also increased and both licensed and illegal miners were blamed for the country’s growing power deficit last year.
After rising demand, insufficient electricity supply and extremely hot weather caused by droughts and other extreme conditions, Hassan Rouhani declared a temporary ban against crypto mining. Tehran lifted restrictions on September as power consumption declined with cooler weather, but they were reintroduced in December to avoid blackouts in winter.
What do you think Armenia’s plans are to provide favorable conditions for cryptocurrency mining? Please share your thoughts in the comment section.