One of the biggest bitcoin mining firms, Marathon Digital (MARA), is in discussions with Kenya to assist in developing the nation’s cryptocurrency regulations and managing its renewable energy resources through mining. Vice president of government affairs at MARA Jayson Browder told CoinDesk, “We’ve been working closely with the Kenyan government on how to optimize and monetize renewable energy assets.” The Marathon team recently met with Kenyan President William Ruto at an American Chamber of Commerce event held in Kenya.
Data from 2022 showed that over 80% of Kenya’s electricity came from renewable sources; President Ruto stated that he intends to increase this to 100% by 2030.The International Renewable Energy Agency states that Kenya is almost at the level of nations like Uganda and the Congo, which rely almost exclusively on renewable energy.
Together with wind and solar energy, geothermal energy from the earth’s crust powers Kenya. While geothermal energy remains consistent and unaffected by seasonal variations, the power supply of Kenya may face challenges from other renewable energy sources. Here comes Marathon, which thinks its technology can assist Kenya in resolving this power management issue. The fact that electricity is only generated when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing presents one of the biggest obstacles to renewable energy, since it causes issues for users with consistency and storage. A power management system is required to balance the grid since, in order to utilize various energy sources as efficiently as possible, the power must either be wasted or saved.
Businesses such as Marathon have the ability to configure their bitcoin mining activities to function as a power management system by utilising the surplus energy produced by these sustainable sources. In order to maintain grid balance, miners can also cease operations to minimize consumption and allow other customers to continue receiving electricity uninterrupted.Companies are able to set up sites wherever they are needed to assist balance the power grid because bitcoin mining activities can be relatively flexible.
“The technology is modular, we can co-locate these really anywhere, and if they’re an intermittent source, like wind or solar, we’re able to turn off our machines when the grid needs it, so we can balance the grid,” Browder said.
The company also started a similar project in Paraguay last year involving a 100% renewable-powered bitcoin mining project. The project meant that MARA could co-locate mining sites by the power sources producing excess energy and monetize them.
“So, the technology we bring to bear can help to monetize and optimize some of these energy assets,” Browder said.
The Kenyan government did not respond to CoinDesk’s request for comments on the story.
According to Bowder, although the discussion between Marathon and Kenya began with sustainable energy alternatives, it finished with the president of Kenya asking the company’s opinion on a cryptocurrency regime. Governments from all around the world are working to establish their crypto policies. While African nations like South Africa have just begun licensing crypto businesses, Western nations like Europe and the U.K. have recently announced new regulations to help regulate this emerging technology.
“The Kenyan government wants to be leaders in the technology and innovation space. Investing internally and bringing in leading companies to support this growth,” Browder said in a statement. “This includes building the right regulatory framework around digital assets to include a potential development of a cryptocurrency exchange (government or private sector).”
The purpose of the regulatory framework and crypto exchange would be to enable the Kenyan government to regulate both the trading and selling of crypto assets within its borders.
“We’re excited about supporting the Kenyan government’s forward-thinking,” Browder said.