Venezuela has between 30 and 36 GW of generation capacity, the historical peak demand is 13-17 GW.
Bitcoin operations can quickly go offline amid spikes in domestic demand.
The installed electricity generation capacity in Venezuela reaches between 30 and 36 GW, while the historical maximum demand is around 13 to 17 GW.
Once the maintenance and rehabilitation work of hydroelectric plants such as El Guri and thermoelectric facilities are completed, it is likely that a arise structural surplus of energy that will need to be absorbed efficiently.
In this context, Bitcoin mining has been pointed out as a possible “buyer of last resort” for that surplus. Its main feature is operational flexibility: data centers can adjust their consumption quickly, connecting when power is available and disconnecting in a matter of seconds if residential or industrial demand increases.
Alessandro Cecere, business manager at Luxor Mining, analyzed this scenario in detail. In one recent interviewexplained that Venezuela already has mining operations that represent between 0.5% and possibly up to 1% of the global hash rateconsuming around 400 MW to 1 GW.
According to Cecere, “miners can act as regulators of the electrical grid, since they can turn off their machines in the event of an increase in demand, thus avoiding overloads.”
Bitcoin mining with waste gas
A notable aspect is the use of flared gas in the oil industry. It is estimated that this wasted resource is equivalent to a power of about 2 GW.
Capturing it to generate electricity dedicated to mining could transform an environmental and energy waste into a source of economic value.
“In terms of gas burned, we are talking about more than 2,000 MW, that is, 2 GW. If that gas is captured and used to generate electricity… for Bitcoin mining,” Cecere said.
The proposal contemplates that miners settle near generation sources —whether next to the dam or in oil fields—to reduce transmission losses and minimize costs.
In this way, they would not compete directly with domestic consumption, but rather would create additional demand where there is currently surplus or waste.
Cecere also mentioned that mining can facilitate the reactivation of thermoelectric plants through private investment. “Mining solves the problem because it creates the demand that makes the project make financial sense. We can talk about a 1 GW plant because we are going to mine 800 MW and give the remaining 200 MW to the population or state that needs it,” he indicated.
Experts point out that this model has already been observed in other regions with energy surpluses or residual gaswhere mining acts as a buffer that stabilizes the network and generates income in foreign currency without requiring permanent subsidies from the State.
In Venezuela, the current low cost of energy (around 1 cent per kWh in some cases) could make the activity attractive, even if prices adjust gradually.
However, implementation faces technical and regulatory challenges. Rehabilitation of the infrastructure would take between one and two years, and a clear legal framework for large-scale mining operations would need to be defined. However, there is already plans of financing to start investments.
Additionally, factors such as hot and humid weather require efficient cooling solutions, such as water-cooled equipment or adjustments to machine software.