Iran Amends Regulations to Ease Crypto Miners’ Access to Renewable Energy

Authorities in Iran have revised some rules for the crypto mining industry in order to facilitate its access to green power. Licensed miners will now be able to purchase electricity produced from renewable sources from across the country at lower rates.

Cryptocurrency Miners in Iran Allowed to Source Green Energy From Across Country

Iran’s Ministry of Energy has changed certain crypto mining regulations to ease access to renewable power for entities authorized to mint digital currencies in the Islamic Republic.

A recently issued decree relieves miners from the obligation to use on-site power generation capacities and permits them to buy electricity from renewables from across the country and through the national grid, Bargqnews unveiled.

Until now, mining enterprises could only sign contracts with renewable power plants located in the same province, pointed out Mohammad Khodadadi, an official at the Iran Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution Company (Tavanir).

Quoted by the English-language business news daily Financial Tribune, the report also revealed that Iranian firms mining legally with clean energy will not be charged the regular transmission fees for using the country’s electricity network.

The positive changes for the mining sector come after in December Iranian authorities announced a decision to allow power plants producing green energy to supply licensed miners. That change was an initiative of the energy ministry in Tehran.

Iran has been experiencing power shortages during the hot and dry summers and cold winter months and partially blamed the energy-intensive bitcoin mining for the deficit. In 2021, registered crypto farms were ordered to shut down their power-hungry equipment on more than one occasion.

This year, Tavanir again told miners to suspend activities until the end of the summer, citing expected electricity shortages amid rising demand due to increased consumption for cooling. The restrictions sparked negative reactions from the country’s crypto community.

The state-owned utility also vowed to impose severe measures against unlicensed cryptocurrency miners, raising fines for illegal mining activities by 400%. According to official data released in May, the Iranian government had identified and closed down almost 7,000 facilities minting digital coins outside the law.

Such improvised crypto farms are often powered with subsidized household electricity and have become a popular income source for many Iranians. During numerous raids so far, Tavanir employees have confiscated hundreds of thousands of mining devices.