In 2021, the electricity use in Kazakhstan reached 82.99 billion kWh. The Kazakhstan Energy Ministry attributed this high consumption to Bitcoin mining data centers in the country, writes LS.
According to the ministry, about 50 data centers focused on the production of cryptocurrencies are located in Kazakhstan. Their load is 693.3 MW, and the total permitted capacity according to technical conditions is 972.3 MW.
Data centers use 5 MWh, and one such facility accounts for 3.6 million kWh per month, which is proportional to the consumption of about 24,000 apartments, the Ministry of Energy noted.
According to the ministry’s calculations, in order to provide mining farms with sufficient electricity, it is necessary to build additional energy sources of at least 1000 MW.
In early October, the Ministry of Energy presented a draft order limiting the power consumption of one mining farm to 1 MW, and the total capacity of farms in the country to 100 MW.
Recall, according to Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, Kazakhstan has become one of the leaders in bitcoin mining, achieving the third position worldwide.
Many miners drew attention towards Kazakhstan after China authorities banned all kinds of crypto activities.
In June, Kazakh President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev signed a law introducing additional mining fees.