BITCOIN | West Data Group Begins Building of 20MW Bitcoin Mining Facility in Southern Ethiopia

Hong Kong-based data center service provider, West Data Group, has broken ground on the construction of a 20MW Bitcoin mining facility in Wolaita Sodo City in Southern Ethiopia.

According to local reports, the facility is expected to begin operations in six months while estimated to entail an investment of $15 million.

According to Kal Kassa, an advisor to West Data Group, the facility will house nearly 6,000 specialized Bitcoin mining units upon completion. Kassa says the import of essential mining equipment is already underway as the Group moves to meet its six-month target.

As reported by BitKE in early 2024, the company signed a $250 million partnership agreement with Ethiopian Investment Holding in February 2024 with the goals to build advanced infrastructure for data mining and artificial intelligence training.

West Data Group has already set up a data mining facility in Bole Lemi Industrial Park, with a capacity of 30 MW and an estimated investment of $20 million. According to Kassa, the company has invested approximately $30 million in operational facilities to date.

Located in the high-altitude city of Wolaita Sodo, the new facility aims to capitalize on Ethiopia’s plentiful renewable energy resources, available at some of the world’s lowest tariffs.

Ethiopia has emerged as a key destination for global bitcoin mining, highlighted by a recent report from Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP). The state-owned company disclosed that it earned nearly $55 million from electricity sales to data miners over the past year.

Since EEP began collecting payments in foreign currency from data miners in March 2024, it has generated $2 million in just two months.

The companies are attracted by affordable renewable energy from the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Currently, approximately 18 data mining companies are operating in Ethiopia, with electricity consumption ranging between 10 and 100 MW.