Russian Crypto Mining Capacity Set for Significant Expansion

Russia’s cryptocurrency mining capacity may soon increase by an additional 6.9 gigawatts (GW), according to the national power grid operator. Speaking to TASS news agency, Andrey Kataev, Director of Energy Markets and External Relations, noted that Russia’s current total mining capacity is 2.7 GW. He added that domestic miners plan to expand their network size by 2.5 times, according to Cryptonews.

Data centers operated by Russian mining firms already use 2.7 GW of energy, with another 6.9 GW ready for deployment. Of this, data centers with a capacity of 2.5 GW already have technical conditions for network connection. Kataev made these remarks during a session of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs’ Energy Commission.

While miners welcome this development, there are concerns about the feasibility of deploying such a large capacity. The latest power system plan approved by the Ministry of Energy for 2024-2029 anticipates an average annual growth of 3.4 GW. With industrial production in Russia growing by 3.5% last year, this expansion could pose challenges for the grid.

Some regions in Russia, such as southeastern Siberia, still face energy shortages, preventing new large-scale consumers from connecting to the grid. However, miners are relatively mobile and can relocate to regions with excess energy if needed. Major Russian miners have shown a willingness to do so, preferring new data centers in regions like Samara and the Republic of Buryatia over traditional hotspots like Irkutsk in Siberia.