One of Canada's largest miners, HIVE Digital Technologies, said that plans to expand the company's activities in Paraguay appeared after meetings with the country's president Santiago Pena. The decisive factor in choosing the location of the new mining site was the stability of the government's fiscal policy, as well as transparent energy pricing.
"We are pleased to announce our plan to build a 100 MW data center in Paraguay that will use green and clean energy generated from the Itaipu hydroelectric power plant. In addition, we have purchased 500 additional S21 Pro Antminers as part of the expansion. The new data center is expected to add up to 6.5 EH/s to our bitcoin mining operations, increasing the company's global hashrate to 12.1 EH/s," HIVE said.
The HIVE administration clarified that the company minimizes its environmental impact, and its activities in the country will contribute to the global transition to more environmentally friendly energy solutions for bitcoin mining. At the same time, Paraguay's budget will receive more than $100 million in stable income over the next three years.
HIVE's statement came amid an escalating conflict between the country's government and local mining companies over the upcoming increase in electricity tariffs. Jimmy Kim, a representative of the Chamber for the Extraction of Digital Assets (Capamad), expressed concern that due to an increase in electricity tariffs by 16%, up to 70% of legally operating mining companies in Paraguay may cease their activities in the country.