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Armenia to invite cryptocurrency miners to set up a base in old thermal power facilities and install coin minting hardware.

Armenia is going to invite cryptocurrency miners to install their coin minting hardware in an old thermal power plant.  The TPP will be decommissioned, and the government plans to lease it to industrial companies, particularly mining enterprises.

Miners Welcome to Set Up Data Centers at Old TPP in Armenia

The Hrazdan TPP's technology has been judged antiquated and inefficient, resulting in high-cost electricity, and Armenian officials have decided to shut it down in the near future. Its buildings and infrastructure, such as power lines, water and gas pipes, will be sold to other, more profitable companies.

The plan to rent out the ancient thermal station was accepted during a meeting of the Commission for Regulation of Public Services on Wednesday, Sputnik Armenia reported.  A company that manufactures refrigeration systems has already negotiated for the relocation of portion of its production to the TPP, the news portal revealed.

Ecos, a free economic zone in another area of the factory, has been constructed and is now operational. Crypto farms will be allowed to set up shop in this region for those involved in the extraction of digital currencies. In 2018, Armenia passed a law making crypto mining legal.

The mining facilities will have ample electrical energy even when the Hrazdan TPP is dismantled. Hrazdan-5, a new thermal power plant with four electricity generating units, was developed nearby by the Russian conglomerate Gazprom. Another TPP was finished in November 2021 by Renco, an Italian firm, and Siemens, a German corporation.

Armenia today has three modern thermal power plants, including the state-owned Yerevan TPP. The electricity they produce is more expensive than that provided by hydroelectric power plants and the Armenian nuclear power station west of the capital city, according to the report.

The little Caucasus country, on the other hand, sells around 75% of its electricity to Iran, which supplies Armenia with inexpensive natural gas for power generation. After the building of a new transmission line between Armenia and the Islamic Republic in 2023, this collaboration will be expanded.

Cryptocurrency mining has grown in popularity in Iran, with the country recognising it as a lawful economic activity in 2019. The sector's energy requirements have risen as well, and both licenced and unlicensed miners were blamed last year for the country's growing power shortfall.

Then-President Hassan Rouhani ordered a temporary ban on crypto mining in May, citing increased demand and insufficient electrical supply due to extreme heat and drought. The limitations were dropped in September when electricity use fell due to the cooler temperature, but they were reinstated in December to avert winter outages.