Virtual currency miners are flocking to Iceland due to its abundance of renewable energy, and some lawmakers want to tax them, according to ABC News. Iceland’s renewable energy from hydroelectric and geothermal power plants has delivered competitive electricity rates.
Johann Snorri Sigurbergsson, a business development manager at Hitaveita Sudurnesja, a local energy company, expects virtual currency mining to double the country’s energy consumption to around 100 megawatts, which exceeds that used for the country’s 340,000 households, according to the country’s National Energy Authority.

Sigurbergsson said he could not have predicted this development four months ago. The Svartsengi geothermal plant supports the southwestern peninsula, where the mining takes place. He said he recently met with a mining company that wants to purchase 18 megawatts.