Marathon Digital Partners With Kenya For $80 Million Green Energy Investment
Bitcoin (BTC) mining company Marathon Digital (MARA) announced a significant partnership on Friday with Kenya’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum to enhance the country’s energy infrastructure with an investment exceeding $80 million.
The collaboration aims to “monetize underutilized energy across Kenya and jointly develop technology projects,” according to Marathon CEO Fred Thiel.
The company revealed in a social media post that the investment will focus on green data centers. Marathon also highlighted in a press release that the funding will include foreign investments, though specific sources were not disclosed.
The statement noted, “With projected foreign investments expected to exceed $80 million, this venture is poised to deliver economic benefits to the Kenyan economy and generate revenue for the local energy sector ecosystem.”
This partnership follows recent discussions between Marathon and Kenyan officials aimed at managing the country’s renewable energy operations and providing guidance on its digital asset regulatory framework.
🇰🇪REGULATION | The Kenya Government Working with Marathon Digital on Cryptocurrency Regime and Bitcoin Mining
Marathon Digital operates 225,589 mining rigs across 11 sites globally, with an installed and energized hash rate of 27.8 exahashes per second.
The Company has mined… pic.twitter.com/9Z7RitPXgQ
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) May 4, 2024
Kenya’s renewable energy sources accounted for 80% of its electricity generation in 2022, with plans to achieve 100% by the end of the decade.
Despite this, renewable sources like solar and wind are intermittent, creating challenges for consistent energy production. Developing the necessary infrastructure for renewable energy is capital-intensive and requires efficient power management systems to store and distribute energy effectively.
During President @WilliamsRuto’s State Visit to the US, we entered into an agreement with @EnergyMinK to invest over $80 million in establishing green data centers to boost renewable energy utilization and optimization in the Republic of Kenya. 🇺🇸🤝🇰🇪 pic.twitter.com/TfyanEdJwW
— MARA (@MarathonDH) May 24, 2024
The agreement will see Marathon and Kenyan policymakers working together to “better understand how to optimize renewable energy projects that produce surplus energy due to intermittency and seasonal variations,” according to the press release.
Following the announcement, Marathon shares rose 6% to around $21 on Friday, outperforming Bitcoin’s 1% increase over the past 24 hours.
