Kenya-based Gridless Compute is a bitcoin miner with six sites in four countries. Now it’s going into power generation, bringing electricity to the most stranded parts of Africa. From Moneyweb.
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If Eskom had entered bitcoin mining in 2020 – using only a portion of its surplus power – it would have paid off its more than R400 billion debt by 2024.
Last week, we learned that Ethiopian Electric Power generated $200 million from bitcoin mining, also using otherwise stranded power.
Bitcoin miners have been scolded for consuming huge amounts of power, but that argument is looking a little tenuous.
This is especially true considering what our latest guest, Erik Hersman, CEO of Kenya-based Gridless Compute, has to share on the latest Moneyweb Crypto Pod podcast.
Rather than being a consumer of other people’s electricity, bitcoin miner Gridless is now entering the power generation market in Africa.
Listen/read: Crypto heists, blockchain sleuths, and turning surplus power into bitcoin [Mar 2025]
Gridless Compute operates six mining sites in four countries using renewable energy such as hydro, geothermal and biomass.
The company partners with off-grid energy providers who often use only 30% of their capacity due to a lack of anchor tenants. By deploying bitcoin miners as a ‘buyer of last resort’, Gridless absorbs excess electricity, sharing the resulting bitcoin revenue with energy partners.
This model enhances financial sustainability, enabling providers to fund infrastructure like transformers and power meters.
In Zambia, for example, Gridless’s presence in its first year enabled 400 families and 40 businesses to gain electricity access, as the revenue stabilised operations and expanded networks.
Unique economics
The podcast highlights the unique economics of bitcoin mining, where miners – shoebox-sized computers performing high-intensity computations (hash rate) – earn around $50 per petahash per day, translating to seven to 10 cents per kilowatt-hour. While this is less profitable than selling power to communities (who pay between 11 cents and $1 per kilowatt-hour), bitcoin mining ensures 100% capacity utilisation, filling gaps when demand is low, such as at night.
As communities consume more power, Gridless relocates mining rigs to new sites with stranded energy, a common issue globally, including in South Africa.
Gridless demonstrates how bitcoin mining can bring electricity to the most remote communities, completely divorced from the national grid. By fixing turbines and civil works, Gridless can sell power to communities at higher rates while using bitcoin mining to monetise excess capacity from day one.
This aligns incentives: communities get affordable electricity, and Gridless maximises returns. Hersman emphasises that this model redefines off-grid energy as a viable investment, moving away from reliance on concessionary financing from institutions like the World Bank.
Growing interest
Hersman, who chairs the Green Africa Mining Alliance (gamma.africa), notes growing interest from African governments, with ministers frequently inquiring about replicating this model.
Looking ahead, Gridless aims to expand into South Africa, despite its limited hydro resources, by exploring solar and wind opportunities.
Hersman acknowledges solar’s intermittency challenges but is developing an open-source module to enable small-scale solar operators, like farmers with 20-30 kilowatts, to mine bitcoin directly, bypassing third-party involvement. This could accelerate returns on solar investments and decentralise the bitcoin network, a key goal for global resilience.
The Green Africa Mining Alliance fosters collaboration among miners, sharing insights on suppliers and power agreements, with annual events in countries like Zambia.
From a modest start with six miners in a 50-kilowatt Kenyan hydro facility in 2022, Gridless has scaled rapidly, proving a model that others can replicate.
By openly sharing its approach, Gridless hopes to inspire more players to harness Africa’s stranded energy, driving both economic growth and electrification.
For previous Moneyweb Crypto Pod episodes, click here.
