Canadian Provinces Compete for Attention of Bitcoin Mining Businesses

In Canada, individual provinces are responsible for energy issues, and their interest in Bitcoin mining is growing as several provincial governments have already offered low-cost energy incentives to attract mining operations to their provinces.Quebec, the largest Canadian province, wants in on the action and has overruled its energy provider Hydro-Québec’s request for a rate increase for Bitcoin businesses, in order to allow Bitcoin miners to have the same hydro rate as the largest industrial customers.Bitfarms, the only major Bitcoin mining company in Quebec, will continue to be billed at the LG industrial rate (for high-power customers) of around CAD $0.05 per kWh.Bitfarms founder and president Pierre-Luc Quimper told Bitcoin Magazine:“This decision helps to secure our long-term operations in Québec as we enter a new era of operational growth. We are excited to continue our collaboration with Hydro-Québec, municipal energy distributors and municipalities.”Quimper added, “With green hydroelectricity at a competitive price, innovative universities and this recent decision by the Energy Board that clearly supports the industry, Québec has all the ingredients to become a blockchain hub,”The Energy Board decision ordered Hydro-Québec to set aside an extra 300 megawatts for the crypto industry, on top of 368 megawatts already committed, and rolled back Hydro-Québec’s plan to make crypto businesses compete in an auction.As with ...