Russia is on the verge of increasing its mining capacity by as much as 6.9GW, beyond its current mining levels. This has been revealed by the Director of Energy Markets and External Relations at the Russian Power System Operator, Andrey Katayev. At a meeting hosted by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs’ Electric Power Commission, Katayev explained that the country’s existing cryptocurrency mining now consumes 2.7GW. He further said that the expansion could see the network expand by 2.5 times.
The latest announcement comes after another report revealed that mining-focused data centers are well-equipped and ready to plug into the circuits with an added 2.5GW capacity. This is according to the Ministry of Energy’s development plan for electric power systems for 2024-2029, with a capacity target of around 3.4 GW per year. This is consistent with Russia’s 3.5% growth in its industrial production last year and is in line with their average annual plan for the increase in industrial production.
However, the use of modern technology in mining has concerns about the ability of the country’s power facilities. Katayev himself realized these problems and described the projected growth as ‘significant demands for the energy grid.’ These concerns are further exacerbated by the existing energy deficit in some parts of Russia, especially southeastern Siberia, where, at the moment, it is impossible to connect new large consumers to the electrical network because of a lack of resources.
Even with the issues affecting Russian miners in various regions, there has been a demonstration of how they can shift their operations to other areas where energy is oversupplied. Therefore, over the past few years, there has been a tendency to move the key mining stakes from traditional areas such as the Siberian Irkutsk region to other areas of Russia, for instance, the Samara Oblast and Buryatia in the south. These relocations indicate that the miners are willing to shift their strategies based on geographic and legal considerations.
The strategies and flexibility of miners clearly show a change in Russia’s approach to crypto mining. The growth of this sector also reveals that the country increasingly relies on virtual currencies and aims to dominate the global crypto-mining market. The effects of this industry are inevitable in influencing Russia’s energy policies and economic strategies regarding digital currencies.