The government of Kazakhstan is considering building a nuclear power plant to overcome the power shortage allegedly caused by the booming crypto mining industry. When China recently cracked down on the industry, power supply problems were driving away miners who saw Central Asian countries as their new home.

Energy supply shortage in Kazakhstan’s encrypted mining industry, nuclear power plant project restarted

The Kazakhstan authorities are now considering implementing a ten-year-old nuclear power plant construction plan (Nuclear Power Plant) To solve the country’s growing power deficit.Due to tariff ceilings and friendly attitudes towards cryptocurrencies, the former Soviet Republic attracted a large number of Chinese miners expelled by Beijing attack Oppose the encryption industry launched in May of this year.However, some of them are now Leave The country is idle because of their hardware.

Kazakhstan Energy Minister Magzum Mirzagaliev revealed this week that two sites are currently being considered as potential sites for nuclear power plants. They are the village of Urken in the Almaty region and the city of Kurchatov in the East Kazakhstan region. The Russian news agency TASS quoted Mirzagarev as saying:

We are ready to achieve a balance between production and consumption by 2035. We clearly see the need to build a nuclear power plant in order to provide electricity to our population and economy.

Kazakhstan is a global leader in uranium mining and has been considering building a nuclear power plant for more than a decade. Mirzagaliev admits that it will take another 10 years to build it. The Nur-Sultan government is negotiating with the Russian National Atomic Energy Corporation, Russian Atomic Energy CompanyNuclear power plants have been built in China, India and Belarus. The official pointed out that the nuclear power plant will also help Kazakhstan achieve its carbon neutral goal by 2060.

Last summer, China began to experience power shortages, when the influx of Chinese miners caused a 7% shortage of power supply in the first three quarters of this year.Energy hungry data center soon blame For the shortage, the authorities estimate that a single crypto farm need Equivalent to the energy of 24,000 households.The deficit forces Kazakhstan, a major producer of fossil fuels, to buy expensive electricity From Russia Fill in the gaps.

Kazakhstan generally maintains a positive attitude towards the encryption industry.It welcomes miners and takes measures adjust Department. Recently published estimates indicate that the crypto mining industry can inject approximately US$1.5 billion into its economy in the next five years, and tax revenues are expected to exceed US$300 million. In January, a fee of US$0.0023 per kilowatt-hour of electricity will be levied on registered mining companies.

Do you think that nuclear power plants will solve Kazakhstan’s power supply problems and provide enough power for its encrypted mining industry? Tell us in the comments section below.

Lubomir Tasef

Lubomir Tassev is a tech-savvy journalist from Eastern Europe. He likes Hitchens’ famous quote: “Being a writer is my nature, not what I do.” In addition to encryption, blockchain and financial technology, international politics and economics Are the other two sources of inspiration.