Norway has become an attractive center for the bitcoin mining industry. Not only does the country produce about 1% of the global hash rate, but it is also powered entirely by renewable energy.

Why Norway?

When Norway is mentioned in the context of bitcoin, it is often to highlight the rapid energy consumption of bitcoin. as in forbes famous Last May, bitcoin miners cumulatively absorbed more energy than some smaller countries – Norway being one of them.

However, the country now hosts a significant portion of bitcoin’s total hash power within its borders. While 0.77% may not sound like much, it is a large part considering Norway’s small geography and population.

As in Arcane’s . have read in report good Released Thursday, the industry there includes a handful of smaller local players, including CryptoVault and arcane Green Data. However, it also includes several large global players such as Northern Data, BitDeer, Bitzero, and COWA.

Another part of Norway’s relative popularity stems from its low electricity costs, which are among the cheapest in all of Europe. Prices across the country have been in the range of $0.03 to $0.05 per kWh for the past 5 years, and have even dropped to as low as $0.01 per kWh in 2020.

The sudden drop that year was caused by extra high rainfall, which quickly filled Norway’s hydroelectric reservoirs. After all, the country’s mountainous terrain and wet climate allow it to be 88% powered by hydroelectricity. Norway is almost 100% green, with 10% produced by wind.