Key Takeaways:
- Decommissioned power plant in Armenia to host crypto mining farms.
- Hrazdan Thermal Power Plant will be decommissioned, and the government plans to rent it to industrial companies, including mining companies.
- The equipment at the Hrazdan TPP has been deemed obsolete and inefficient, producing expensive electricity, and Armenian authorities have decided to shut down the old power plant soon.
- Hrazdan TPP premises and infrastructure, which include power lines, water and gas pipelines, will be made available to other, more profitable businesses.
Armenia will invite cryptocurrency miners to install coin minting hardware in an old thermal power plant. The TPP will be decommissioned, and the government plans to rent it to industrial companies, including mining companies. The equipment at the Hrazdan TPP has been deemed obsolete and inefficient, producing expensive electricity, and Armenian authorities have decided to shut down the old power plant soon.
Hrazdan Thermal Power Plant is a natural gas-fired power plant in the north-western part of Hrazdan in Armenia. Hrazdan TPP is one of the largest power plants in Armenia. Four older units of the plant are owned and operated by the Hrazdan Power Company, a subsidiary of Tashir Capital. The family of Samvel Karapetyan owns Tashir Capital. The new fifth unit is owned and operated by Gazprom Armenia. Its premises and infrastructure, which include power lines, water and gas pipelines, will be made available to other, more profitable businesses.
According to Sputnik Armenia, the plan to rent out the old thermal station was approved at a meeting of the Commission for Regulation of Public Services on Wednesday. According to the news portal, a company that manufactures refrigeration units has already arranged for the transfer of some of its production to the TPP. In another part of the plant, a free economic zone called Ecos has been established and is now open. Entities involved in the extraction of digital currencies will be permitted to establish crypto farms in this area. In 2018, Armenia passed legislation legalising cryptocurrency mining.
Even after the Hrazdan TPP is decommissioned, the mining facilities will have enough electricity. Hrazdan-5, a new thermal power plant with four power generating units built nearby by the Russian giant Gazprom. In November 2021, another TPP was completed by the Italian company Renco and Germany’s Siemens. Armenia now has three modern thermal power plants thanks to the state-run Yerevan TPP. According to the report, the electricity they produce is more expensive than that produced by hydroelectric power plants and the Armenian nuclear power plant west of the capital city.
