- Renewables Rising
- Posts
- Ethiopia ends flat-rate for bitcoin miners
Ethiopia ends flat-rate for bitcoin miners
Dear subscriber,
Some utilities turned to Bitcoin miners to monetise excess power – a clever fix for idle grids. But short-term solutions like these can become costly in the long run.
– Sammy Jamar, Editor
 | Ethiopia’s power utility has scrapped its flat-rate electricity tariff for cryptocurrency mining, ending the country’s status as a low-cost Bitcoin mining hub. Starting December 1, 2025, new tariffs will take effect, raising electricity rates from $0.0314 to as high as $0.06 per kWh, a 91% increase, and more than triple the rate paid by industrial consumers. |
The policy shift follows soaring domestic demand and a government push for financial sustainability. Ethiopia had attracted nearly 30 international crypto-miners, which consumed about 30% of the country's power consumption.
Ethiopia relied on them to absorb excess power as it expanded grid access, but this model has become unsustainable. With countries like South Africa now exploring Bitcoin mining, Ethiopia’s experience could serve as a lesson.
Our take: Raising tariffs is unlikely to push miners out of Ethiopia as it still has one of the lowest tariffs in Africa… Read more (2 min)
 | China’s Kaishan Group has signed a deal with Kenya to build a 165.4 MW geothermal plant for green ammonia production, valued at $800 million. The project shows a growing trend of industries setting up operations in renewably powered zones. It follows moves by firms like Aquilastar, which is setting up an EV assembly plant in the same geothermal area. |
Several countries are developing special economic zones powered by renewable energy, while also offering incentives to attract and promote green manufacturing.
Unlike intermittent renewables, geothermal provides consistent power, which is critical for running chemical, fertiliser and hydrogen plants.
Our take: The slow expansion of national grids will likely reinforce this trend of dedicated renewables power plants… Read more (2 min)
 | A broad move towards rural electrification has transformed Africa’s power sector by embracing mini-grids, says Brenda Onyango, an operations expert, in an interview with Renewables Rising. Mini-grids can reach remote communities without costly transmission lines and give batteries a second life, reducing overall project costs and improving reliability. |
She believes mini-grids occupy a “sweet spot” between costly grid extensions and small solar home systems, offering Africa’s best opportunity to expand energy access while supporting productive uses.
On the speed of delivery, Ms Onyango said, “We deploy containerised systems that come pre-assembled with power electronics and wiring directly from the factory. It’s almost a plug-and-play solution that significantly reduces construction time.”
Read the full conversation here… Read time (3 min)
The Ministry of Energy and partners awarded Sustainable Energy scholarships to Tanzanian women pursuing Master’s in Sustainable Energy (Source: Tanzania's Energy Efficiency Action Plan)
Events
🗓️ Participate in the Powerelec Kenya 2025 event (Nov 11)
🗓️ Attend the West African Clean Energy & Environment Trade Fair & Conference 2025 (Nov 11)
🗓️ Join a webinar on tariff determination techniques and subsidy design (Nov 12)
Jobs
💼 Become Daystar Power’s Legal Associate (Nigeria)
🦺 Join SOLA as a Performance Engineer (Assets) (South Africa)
👨🏻💻 Apply to Sun King’s IT Support Associate role (Tanzania)
Various
💡 Namibia’s Renewable Energy and Green Hydrogen TVET Skills
🌀 Construction of Phase 3 at Ummbila Emoyeni wind cluster in SA starts
🔋 Eskom’s Board approves Eskom Green for renewable energy expansion
Seen on LinkedIn
Mossis Oguna, Back Officer at Watu Credit, says, “For decades, Africa’s energy challenge has been framed as a lack of grid access. But what if the future doesn’t need the grid at all? What if Africa’s advantage is precisely its blank slate, the freedom to build distributed, data-driven energy systems from the ground up?”