5 Renewable Energy Sources Powering Bitcoin Mining in Africa
Jan 29, 2025
The proliferation of Bitcoin mining globally is putting pressure on miners to start using renewable sources of energy. With little room in the mining budget for new expenses, miners are increasingly exploring cost-effective sustainable solutions, such as hydro, solar, and wind power, to maintain profitability while addressing growing environmental concerns.
The march toward green mining has been underway for some time, but progress remains uneven due to cost, infrastructure, and regulatory challenges. The adoption of sustainable mining practices is creating unprecedented complexity not only for engineers responsible for the infrastructure but also for investors navigating the trade-offs between profitability and sustainability.
Why do Bitcoin mining sites need renewable energy now?
To keep up with all the changes, mining data centers should be more rigorous in adopting standard processes, and they need management software to ensure optimal energy efficiency and operational transparency.
As of 2023, Africa’s renewable energy capacity reached 62 GW, growing by 5.7% from the previous year but still under 2% of the global total.
For miners looking to gain sustainable efficiencies in Africa, here are five renewable energy sources worth exploring.
1. Hydropower
“For the hydroelectricity sector, it’s like a miracle. The fact that all the African dams currently under construction can be guaranteed to sell as much electricity as they can produce was unimaginable until now. Bitcoin fixes this,” said Seb Gouspillou, CEO of BigBlock Datacenter in Congo.
While small-scale miners typically run to fossil fuel to power their ASIC devices, they should prioritize the transition to renewable energy like hydroelectricity. Renewable energy sources have less environmental impact and contribute to long-term sustainability.
Plus, there’s profit leverage to be gained if miners in countries like Ethiopia utilize abundant local hydroelectric resources—the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) provides 16,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) (the highest in Africa).
For example, QRB Labs provides data center solutions to global clients, specializing in energy-intensive computations like Bitcoin mining and AI model training, regardless of location. It collaborates with Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP), utilizing surplus hydroelectric energy, often called “stranded” power, to run scalable and modular data centers efficiently.
Kenya’s and Nigeria’s off-grid hydropower systems also power Bitcoin mining operations. Gridless and Trojan Mining’s initiatives not only support mining activities but also contribute to electrifying rural communities. The company is demonstrating a dual benefit of technological advancement and social development.
Another real driving force for green mining is the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Virunga National Park’s hydropower powering Bitcoin mining. This operation aids in funding conservation efforts despite being one of the most dangerous places in the world.
Several militia groups are battling over land and resources while hiding under the vast natural vegetation. To address this, the park’s management has established three large hydroelectric power plants in Matebe, Mutwanga, and Luviro, with a fourth currently being developed. The goal is to provide communities with access to electricity and reduce their reliance on wood and coal as energy sources.
“They (Big Block Green (BBG) Services project) are mining off of a hydro plant that was once built and financed by the EU government through government debt and “development aid.” After COVID, there is less to no demand for local power use from tourism, and now the mine adds significantly to the revenue of the park. They are also drying chocolate in the park with excess heat from Bitcoin mining,” reiterated Jesse Hold in his Hashrate Up podcast.
2. Geothermal
Mining pros recognize the need for geothermal power as a sustainable renewable source— for instance, Kenya is leveraging its substantial geothermal resources to power Bitcoin mining operations. The country’s main electricity producer, KenGen, has extended an invitation to Bitcoin miners to establish operations near its geothermal power stations, particularly in the Olkaria region. This initiative aims to utilize surplus geothermal energy while promoting sustainable mining practices.
KenGen’s power generation mix consists of 39.2% geothermal, 45.3% hydro, with thermal accounting for 14.1% and wind contributing 1.4%.
Gridless, a startup, has capitalized on this by using geothermal and solar energy to power its Bitcoin mine in Hell’s Gate, Kenya. “As often happens, you’ll have an overage of power during the day or even at night, and there’s nobody to soak that power up,” explained the CEO, Eric Hersman, to CNBC. He mentioned that his company’s 50-kilowatt mining container is designed to utilize any surplus energy available during the day.
At any given moment, the number of active miners fluctuates constantly. The energy usage might drop to 50 kilowatts, spike to 300 kilowatts, decrease to 200 kilowatts, and rise again, with these variations occurring continuously throughout the day and night.
3. Solar
Miners must consider their sites’ performance not in isolation but alongside broader grid stability and energy costs. That’s why solar energy proves beneficial. Solar energy is a renewable and plentiful resource. When effectively harnessed, it can power entire mining operations while having no impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Africa boasts about two-thirds of the world’s top solar resources. However, it accounts for just 1% of the global installed solar PV capacity.
In Namibia, solar-powered Bitcoin mining is a polished and feasible option. A company in Namibia is already providing Bitcoin mining equipment to local miners as part of its goal to have a “Bitcoin miner in every household,” supported by government-backed solar energy credit financing.
With more interest growing around solar energy, a Lagos-based startup called SunCoin provides mobile mining units powered by solar energy. These compact units, featuring solar panels and high-efficiency mining chips, can be set up at homes or businesses to provide sustainable and affordable options for individual miners.
In South Africa, Bitcoin mining firms are also creating mobile solar-powered mining units. These units can be deployed in remote areas with ample sunlight, reducing pressure on the national grid and providing economic opportunities to underserved communities.
4. Wind
Wind-powered Bitcoin mining isn’t passé. It’s pointless to ignore its potential for sustainable, cost-effective energy generation.
Mining companies such as Marathon have a modular mining technology that can co-locate intermittent sources, like wind or solar, to turn off ASIC miners when the grid needs it to achieve balance.
BBG also has a standby mine near a wind farm in Mauritania, a region well-suited for wind energy production thanks to its reliable wind patterns. Gouspillou introduced the idea but had conflicts with the operator.
5. Biomass
Very many miners should exploit biomass, it’s worth putting the time in to discover how it can fill functional energy gaps.
According to available data, Africa is the world’s largest consumer of traditional biomass energy sources like firewood and charcoal.
- Estimates show that biomass accounts for around 40% of the continent’s total energy supply, with most of it used for cooking in households.
- This represents a significant portion of the total final energy consumption in the region.
- Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly reliant on biomass, with some countries depending on it for over 80% of their energy needs.
Thus, several local Bitcoin miners, like Gridless, are making notable progress in advancing, standardizing, and innovating green Bitcoin mining and rural electrification in Africa, particularly through their use of hydro and biomass energy in Kenya.
This Bitcoin mining series is part of Chaintum’s upcoming magazine publication on “Bitcoin Mining in Africa.”
So, don’t miss out on being among the first to get this edition right into your inbox: https://chaintum.io/newsletter/
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