Kenyan firm using wasted energy to mine Bitcoin — Business model said to potentially help decentralize mining – Mining Bitcoin News
A Kenyan bitcoin mining company, Gridless, recently revealed how it is helping communities reduce electricity costs by using excess generated power to mine bitcoin. The gridless model has been hailed because it could potentially help decentralize bitcoin mining as well as move some hash power to Africa.
Using wasted energy to mine Bitcoin
Gridless, a Kenya-based crypto mining company, has said that excess electricity from mini-grid hydro generators is now being used to mine bitcoin. The revenue generated from bitcoin mining helps reduce or subsidize electricity costs.
In a recently released statement, Gridless said that while mini-hydro plants generating under 100 KW (kilowatts) are being used so far, the company aims to work on larger plants that can generate 500 KW. The Bitcoin mining company said:
We have been working with mini-grid hydro generators in Kenya on how they can use their excess capacity for Bitcoin mining, which also significantly reduces power costs for the local community. Small
According to a Twitter user known as Nick H, in Kenyan villages where the power plants are installed, the communities only use the equivalent of 10% of the generators’ capacity. This means that the power plants, which are being built to cover the future electricity needs of the respective villages, are currently wasting much of the energy produced.
Nick H poses that by “plugging in a few bitcoin miners to take off excess power,” the respective Kenyan villages could lower their power prices by as much as 90%.
Decentralization of Bitcoin Mining
Meanwhile, as well as helping to reduce electricity costs for respective Kenyan communities, it is said that the Gridless model – if widely adopted – could potentially see Kenya and the African continent in general become a major hub for bitcoin mining.
“[This business model] serves as a welcome decentralization of the overly centralized mega-site bitcoin mining that takes place today. Not only does it move some hashing to Africa, but it also redistributes hashing to smaller sites, Erik Hersman, founder at Gridless, said in a blog post.
On Twitter, many users praised Gridless’s “absolutely incredible” business model, with some like Anita from Guatemala asking how this could also be done in her country. In response, Gridless advised those interested in replicating this in their respective countries to find a “partner who likes to build small hydro plants and then work with them on the model so that it’s a win/win/win for the power producer/community/ miner.”
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