Renewables, according to the minister and the local mining industry, is a solution to Kazakhstan’s energy problems.
According to a ministry press release on Wednesday, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Energy Magzum Mirzagaliyev said at a meeting with the mining industry that lawful crypto mines will not face restrictions or be separated from the national grid as long as they do not jeopardize the country’s energy security.
Following an influx of miners this year, electricity has been in short supply in the fossil fuel-dependent Kazakhstan. Since September, the national grid operator KEGOC has been rationing power to miners, and the government has proposed a bill that would limit the supply of power provided by the national grid to new mines to 100MW.
Mirzagaliyev urged legal miners to work together to find “solutions to ensure the reliability of the unified electric power system.”
Local blockchain and data center associations have stated that they are willing to input electricity and invest in renewable energy projects.
Alan Dordzhiev, Chairman of the Association of the Blockchain and Data Center and Technology Industry, stated that the government and private sector should collaborate to combat “grey” miners, who primarily operate in Kazakhstan’s southern regions, and tap into the grid without proper authorization.
The energy and digital development ministries, the Kazakhstan Association of Blockchain Technologies, and the Association of the Blockchain and the Data Center and Technology Industry, as well as KEGOC, signed a protocol to prevent electricity rationing, develop demand reform efforts to balance the energy market, and attract investment for renewable energy projects at the meeting.
Following China’s crypto crackdown in May, Kazakhstan has emerged as the world’s second-largest bitcoin miner, trailing only the United States. According to the ministry, the crypto industry is estimated to contribute 500 billion tenges ($1.16 billion) over the next five years.
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