Starting from September, the Southern West of China enters the dry season, meaning the low price of hydropower in that region is no longer available until the rainy season next year. The dry season creates a tremendous impact on the mining landscape of China, even the world. Without the advantage of low electricity costs, miners in China are looking for ways to stay profitable and survive the dry season. Income depends on the revenue brought by the miner’s computing power and the cost of operating the miner. 

Electricity Cost Control

Without the cheap hydropower, the more economical electricity resource is now the thermal power located in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang. To maintain operations, some miners choose to move their miners to these areas. A smooth and successful migration depends on the following items:

Consistent and Reliable Power Supply

Except for the competitive price, the continuity of the power supply should be a priority. In fact, in many thermal power generating areas, the power supply stability has been an issue when mining farms cluster around power stations, sometimes causing instability.

Compliance

Regulations may affect the power supplied to facilities and, some provinces in China may not be as supportive of mining. For example, although featuring the advantage of low electricity price, Inner Mongolia government is controlling the area’s mining operation. At the end of 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in Inner Mongolia issued a notice to the Inner Mongolia Power (Group) Co. Ltd. Under the notice, some companies who were found undertaking mining operations would no longer be able to obtain favorable electricity prices through Inner Mongolia’s Multilateral Trading Market.

Partner

The reliability of the partner is also a key factor to consider. Before signing the contract, miners should take into consideration the reputation, infrastructure, and operating mode of the mining farm, also its compliance to avoid unexpected losses.

Miner Efficiency Iteration

The dry season brings challenges but also great opportunities. With the elimination of older miner models, the overall hash rate of the network has decreased, so has the overall difficulty, leaving more room for new machines with higher hash rates to enter.

Bearing that in mind, a solution of better-performing machines is key to grab the opportunity. Bitmain’s Antminer 19 series is a strong proof of that. The Antminer S19 Pro features a hash rate of 110 TH/s and an impressive power efficiency of 29.5±%5 J/TH. The Antminer S19 is equipped with a hash rate of 95 TH/s and power efficiency of 34.5±%5 J/TH. And once the series is out on market, it was sold out immediately,  Bitmain has delivered tens of thousands of Antminer 19 Series and has been continuously optimizing the supply chain.

The nearly six-months dry season has always been a challenge for miners in China, but at the same time, there are still plenty of opportunities. Bitmain continues to help customers discover and seize opportunities with more high-quality products and services.