Bitcoin-mining centre at a Ukrainian NPP to cost 9 million hryvnias

“Kyiv Energy Construction Company” won the tender to build a data centre at the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant for 8.92 million hryvnias. The reports public procurement site ProZorro.

The sole bidder, “Ukrenergbudproekt,” offered to carry out the works for 5,600 hryvnias more.

In the near term, NAEC Energoatom will sign a contract with the tender winner.

In the first phase, the contractor must develop the construction documentation for the data centre, where it is planned to house “state registries, electronic archives and computing power”.

Funding for the project will come from the sale of electricity from the NPP under the 2021 investment programme.

Construction is planned to be completed by 31 August 2022.

Tender documentation by ForkLog on Scribd

According to an agreement between Energoatom and the Bitfury Holding BV subsidiary, the capacity of the new data centre will be 250 MW with the possibility of expansion to 500 MW.

Earlier in May 2020, the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine instructed Energoatom to study the possibilities of mining cryptocurrencies at local NPPs.

The ministry later explained that mining would help maintain guaranteed loads at the NPPs and attract additional funds.

In October Bitfury Holding BV and Energoatom signed a memorandum on building data centres on Ukrainian NPPs with total energy consumption of up to 2 GW.

Follow ForkLog news on Twitter.