Iran Dedicates Three Power Plants To Bitcoin Miners

By Ray Crawford·22 September 2020·1 min read

Key Points

Iran's state power utility plans to direct excess electricity from three thermal plants toward Bitcoin mining operations, the company announced this week.
Mohsen Tarztalab, managing director of Therma

Iran's state power utility plans to direct excess electricity from three thermal plants toward Bitcoin mining operations, the company announced this week. Mohsen Tarztalab, managing director of Thermal Power Plant Holding Company (TPPH), said the government has equipped the Ramin, Neka, and Shahid Montazeri plants to support mining. TPPH will publish tender documents on SetadIran.ir for the three projects.

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Iran's electricity sector faces a revenue crisis. Power costs have climbed while utilities must guarantee constant supply to residents, widening the gap between expenditures and income. Mining operations provide a new revenue stream. "The sale of electricity to cryptocurrency miners as one of the ways to earn money in the electricity sector," Tarztalab said. Energy Ministry regulations allow TPPH to allocate capacity to mining ventures.

Tarztalab declined to detail how much power the three plants would funnel to mining. He confirmed that miners would access surplus electricity from new turbines under construction at each facility. Those turbines burn natural gas, which produces cleaner emissions than coal.

The Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade has handed out more than 1,000 licenses to mining operators in Iran. Not all licensed farms operate yet. In July, the government distributed 14 permits, each with 300 megawatts of capacity.

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