Clean Energy Explosion Pulls Crypto Miners To Brazil

JAKARTA Crypto mining companies are now actively negotiating with electricity providers in Brazil, such as Renova Energia. They want to take advantage of the country's renewable energy surplus without burdening the power grid during peak hours.

After major crypto companies Tether announced investment in Brazil in July 2025, there are now at least six ongoing negotiations for small to medium scale projects, as well as one large project with a capacity of up to 400 megawatts (MW).

Crypto mining, which uses machines to solve complex mathematical problems to verify transactions, has caused an overload of electricity networks in many countries. But in Brazil, the industry can actually be a solution to the problem of a clean energy surplus that for the past two years has caused a loss of nearly $1 billion to energy companies, according to wind and solar industry associations ABEE Badhilica and Absolar.

Tether said that it would take advantage of the acquisition of Adecoagro to use energy from sugar factories as a bitcoin mining resource in Brazil.

Renova Energia said it was preparing one of the first major investments in the crypto sector: a $200 million mining project in the northeastern state of Bahia, Brazil. The project includes six 100 MW capacity data centers that will get energy supplies from wind fields.

"We want to develop the company and enter a new market," said Renova CEO Sergio Brasil, quoted by VOI from Reuters. We realize that by providing the entire infrastructure for crypto mining, we are one step ahead of competitors.

Crypto miners can quickly increase or reduce energy consumption according to availability, so that they become flexible consumers who do not burden the network during peak load.

The energy surplus in Brazil is caused by government incentives that encourage a surge in investment in wind and solar energy. However, the development of transmission infrastructure was unable to catch up to the pace of development, causing up to 70% of the energy from some of the generators to be wasted.

John Blount, co-founder of Energex from Kazakhstan, said there is great potential in Brazil. "We will try to develop a mobile data center that can be directly connected to power plants," he said. Enegix is exploring projects in northeastern Brazil, particularly in the state of Piaui, which has excess wind and solar energy supply.

Paraguayan companybanks are also in the negotiation stage, but have not disclosed details. Meanwhile, Bitmain from China, one of the largest mining equipment manufacturers in the world, is also reportedly exploring opportunities in Brazil.

Miners Considered 'Berlian'

Energy providers are starting to see this sector as a golden opportunity. Casa dos Ventos, who partnered with TotalEnergies from France, and Atlas Renewable Energy belonging to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) from the US, confirmed their interest in Reuters.

Engie's (France) subsidiary in Brazil and Auren Energia a joint venture between Votorantim Energia and CPP Investments from Canada are also reportedly considering similar projects, although refusing to make official comments.

"Energy providers see consumers like this as diamonds," said Raphael Gomes, a lawyer who handles a number of crypto projects.

Some companies are even considering buying their own equipment and mining. In Bahia, the state electricity company Eletrobras has installed ASIC mining machines along with wind turbine-powered microgrids, solar panels, and batteries for pilot projects.

"We want to understand how this industry works," said Juliano Dantas, Vice President of Eletrobras Innovation.

The move could also help energy providers enter the data center industry, which is now being pushed by the Brazilian government as part of a clean energy economy development strategy.

Even so, there are concerns about water consumption in this industry, as some areas with excess energy also often experience drought. In addition, Brazil still has infrastructure challenges and does not yet have special regulations for crypto mining.

"We are looking for a 400 MW project like Sisilfus's journey, it's very difficult," said Bruno Vaccotti ofTEN. We're still exploring Brazil, but it's not that easy.