Iran has granted bitcoin miners exclusive access to electricity generated from three power plants for their mining activities, according to state power utility Thermal Power Plant Holding Company .
Mohsen Tarztalab, managing director of TPPH, told a local news agency on Monday that the “necessary equipment has been installed in three power plants of Ramin, Neka and Shahid Montazeri.”
The government firm, which is responsible for the development and operation of thermal-based electric power plants, will now proceed to issue out tenders for the three projects, whose “documents will be uploaded on the SetadIran.ir website in the near future,” said Tarztalab.
It is important to note that crypto miners will only receive excess electricity from expansion turbines that are to be built at the target power plants for this specific purpose. Tarztalab explained this is because the turbines “do not consume liquid fuels like gas oil, and only natural gas”, which burns cleaner compared to coal.
Bitcoin mining is cheap in Iran – something that has drawn scores of miners, both legit and shady, to the nation’s shores. According to official data, mining farms in Iran pay as little as 4,800 rials ($0.01) per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity but rates increase four-fold to 19,300 rials ($0.05) during the peak summer season, from June to September.
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