Iceland miners use more electricity than all other residents combined

HS Orka, one of the companies responsible for the power in Iceland, tells about the miners’ energy demands so huge that they are not even sure there will be enough for everyone, as reported by major news portals.

This year, the miners who plan to set up their giant rigs and farms which are used to get bitcoins will need approximately 840 gigawatt hours of power, while the island residents consume 100 less -- 700 gigawatt hours a year.

One of the local Pirate Party members even claimed that mining does not really benefit Iceland. However, he quickly downplayed the statement by saying that he does not want to look “like a bad guy” in the eyes of the market:

Always, always, always, my primary goal is to move society forward in fruitful ways. I definitely don't want to end up as the bad guy in the eyes of the cryptocurrency community. On the contrary, I want to work with you guys to strengthen this innovation.

— Smári McCarthy (@smarimc) February 12, 2018

The reason of all this popularity of Iceland among miners is that most energy of this country comes from renewable power sources. However, “renewable” does not mean “endless”, and some projects will have to establish their business elsewhere, as the spokesman for HS Orka clearly implied when asked by the press on the matter.

Another region with non-typical energy source, the American town of Wenatchee, is now popular among miners, but there is clearly enough power for both miners and residents of that town, or else we would see similar news messages.