{"id":5614,"date":"2024-11-12T18:08:41","date_gmt":"2024-11-12T17:08:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ulclegal.com\/buletin\/the-selling-price-of-solar-power-is-sinking-lower-and-lower-cryptocurrency-mining-is-the-solution\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T18:59:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T16:59:28","slug":"the-selling-price-of-solar-power-is-sinking-lower-and-lower-cryptocurrency-mining-is-the-solution","status":"publish","type":"bulletin","link":"https:\/\/www.ulclegal.com\/en\/bulletin\/the-selling-price-of-solar-power-is-sinking-lower-and-lower-cryptocurrency-mining-is-the-solution\/","title":{"rendered":"The selling price of solar power is sinking lower and lower. Cryptocurrency mining is the solution?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><mark style=\"color:#043755\" class=\"has-inline-color\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.monaqleasing.sk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cena elektriny<\/a> sa prepadla do z\u00e1porn\u00fdch \u010d\u00edsel<\/mark><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n<p>Over the past calendar year, the price of electricity generated on sunny days has increasingly approached <strong>negative values<\/strong>. To build a solar power plant today without a <strong>guaranteed<\/strong> off-take and a guaranteed price under a PPA contract carries a high <strong>risk<\/strong> to the project&#8217;s payback. <\/p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ulclegal.com\/bulletin-pro-bono\/\">V\u00a0tomto \u010dl\u00e1nku<\/a> preto preberieme <strong>niektor\u00e9 pr\u00e1vne aspekty<\/strong> vyu\u017eitia sol\u00e1rnej elektriny na <strong>\u0165a\u017ebu<\/strong> krypto akt\u00edv.<\/p>\n\n<p>Crypto asset mining has become very <strong>attractive<\/strong> in recent days and there are devices on the market that can already consume electricity and generate crypto assets <strong>profitably<\/strong> at <strong>today&#8217;s<\/strong> electricity prices.<\/p>\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><mark style=\"color:#043755\" class=\"has-inline-color\">Potreba CE certifik\u00e1cie<\/mark><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n<p>The installation and operation of cryptoasset mining equipment is <strong>not<\/strong> regulated in any way in Slovakia as long as the wiring of the equipment itself meets the legal and technical requirements for <strong>electrical equipment<\/strong>. From the perspective of the law, mining equipment is governed by the same rules as <strong>any other<\/strong> electrical appliance. <\/p>\n\n<p>In this respect, it should be pointed out in particular that cryptocurrency mining equipment needs the <strong>relevant CE certificate<\/strong> attesting the conformity of the product with the legal and technical regulations in the European Union, to be sold legally in the European Union market. Many mining devices <strong>do not comply with<\/strong> this requirement and are therefore it is <strong>illegal<\/strong> to sell them in the EU. Nevertheless, it is in fact possible <strong>to import<\/strong> such equipment from abroad.  <\/p>\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><mark style=\"color:#043755\" class=\"has-inline-color\">Prev\u00e1dzka iba (najm\u00e4) po\u010das slne\u010dn\u00fdch hod\u00edn<\/mark><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n<p>An unique challenge is to connect the mining equipment to the solar power plant in such a way that mining <strong>only<\/strong> takes place during hours when there is <strong>enough electricity generated from the sun<\/strong>, as cryptocurrency mining is not always profitable at today&#8217;s electricity prices. The mining facilities themselves <strong>do not allow<\/strong> such a connection and therefore their operation must be controlled by <strong>other devices<\/strong> that can be programmed with the appropriate logic. <\/p>\n\n<p>Up to date, we have <strong>(i) first of all<\/strong> tried cooperation with several control unit providers, mainly in the form of <strong>PLC<\/strong> (Programmable Logic Controller) computers. These devices measure the output of the solar panels, either directly via modbus <strong>RS485 <\/strong>communication with the inverter to which the solar panels are connected, or indirectly via a separate <strong>smartmeter<\/strong> that measures the output of the solar panels at the inverter output. <\/p>\n\n<p>The PLC unit then <strong>physically switches on the<\/strong> individual ASIC mining devices via a <strong>contactor<\/strong>, or sends a signal to the <strong>Arduino<\/strong> computer, which switches the individual mining devices on or off via <strong>a software API<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n<p>Control devices wired in this way are relatively <strong>inexpensive<\/strong>, exhibit high <strong>reliability<\/strong>, and are <strong>simple<\/strong> enough to exhibit low failure rates.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>The second (ii)<\/strong> option for controlling the operation of mining equipment to use only electricity generated from the sun is the <strong>use of batteries<\/strong>, which store unused electricity during the sunny day and are used for mining even after sunset or during cloudy weather. Such an arrangement is <strong>considerably more expensive<\/strong> because of the relatively high cost of batteries to store sufficient electricity. A separate way of using batteries to store electricity from the sun is to use a <strong>virtual battery<\/strong> service, which is also offered by some companies on the Slovak market. However, with a virtual battery service, it should be taken into account that when drawing electricity from a virtual battery, the <strong>price of<\/strong> electricity <strong>distribution still has to be paid<\/strong>.   <\/p>\n\n<p><strong>The third (iii)<\/strong> solution is to use <strong>only<\/strong> mining equipment that is <strong>profitable<\/strong> in mining cryptocurrency even after paying the <strong>current price of<\/strong> electricity. At today&#8217;s electricity prices and the price of some crypto assets, there are several facilities on the market that can profitably mine the relevant cryptocurrencies <strong>nonstop<\/strong>, but their disadvantage is the <strong>high acquisition<\/strong> cost. It is therefore important to consider over what period of time and at what market prices for electricity and cryptocurrencies the <strong>return on<\/strong> the investment in the mining equipment will be secured.  <\/p>\n\n<p>In this context, it is worth pointing out that some electricity sellers are flexible enough to provide <strong>very favorable terms<\/strong> for the sale of electricity to mining installations. Several of our clients have been able to build <strong>very profitable systems of<\/strong> mining facilities using the surplus solar energy generated by their solar panels, thanks to negotiated favorable electricity prices. <\/p>\n\n<p>In <strong>(iv) the fourth<\/strong> option of using cryptocurrency mining facilities, it is possible to <strong>sell<\/strong> electricity from solar panels (on the electricity market, e.g. OKTE) when electricity prices <strong>are high<\/strong> and to <strong>use<\/strong> own electricity from solar panels for mining when electricity prices <strong>are low<\/strong>, or to buy electricity on the exchange and use it for <strong>cryptocurrency mining<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n<p>Such operation control can also be provided by <strong>a PLC computer<\/strong> in conjunction with an <strong>Arduino<\/strong> computer, at very low set-up costs. However, this option requires access to current electricity prices via an <strong>API<\/strong> provided by an electricity <strong>exchange<\/strong> or an electricity trader. <\/p>\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><mark style=\"color:#043755\" class=\"has-inline-color\">V\u00fdroba tepla<\/mark><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n<p>In fact, the mining of cryptoassets itself is just a <strong>by-product of heat production<\/strong>. Mining produces a lot of <strong>heat<\/strong> when the electrical equipment is operating, and it is only by coincidence that this heat is generated when the equipment is used to <strong>calculate the relevant <\/strong>mathematical equations, which also results in the creation (&#8220;<strong>mining<\/strong>&#8220;) of the cryptocurrency. Due to the fact that in Slovakia it is necessary <strong>to heat for<\/strong> more than 6 months of the year, the heat generated during the mining of cryptoassets can also <strong>be utilised<\/strong> for <strong>heating<\/strong>. In most cases, it is not possible to use mining equipment directly in residential premises because they are <strong>noisy<\/strong>. However, they can be easily and efficiently used to heat other, <strong>commercial<\/strong>areas. To illustrate, some of our clients are currently having a good experience using, for example, the IceRiver AL0 to <strong>temper their garage<\/strong>, and as of the date of this writing, their operation is profitable even at <strong>current<\/strong> electricity prices, without the use of solar panels.      <\/p>\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><mark style=\"color:#043755\" class=\"has-inline-color\">Zodpovednos\u0165 za \u0161kodu a\u00a0imisie<\/mark><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n<p>When operating mining equipment, it should be borne in mind that its operation is associated with high <strong>noise levels<\/strong> and <strong>temperatures<\/strong> well above normal operating temperatures of residential premises.<\/p>\n\n<p>They may therefore only be operated in <strong>premises adapted for this purpose<\/strong>. In particular, care must be taken to prevent <strong>fires<\/strong> and noise nuisance. <\/p>\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><mark style=\"color:#043755\" class=\"has-inline-color\">Da\u0148ov\u00fd aspekt<\/mark><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n<p>The mining of cryptoassets constitutes <strong>income<\/strong> that must be taxed at the appropriate <strong>income \/ corporate tax<\/strong> rate. The cryptocurrency mined represents a <strong>gain<\/strong> when credited to a wallet owned by the operator, which is marked at <strong>the price on the date of crediting<\/strong> and separately each day when it is credited. <\/p>\n\n<p><strong>The tax deductible cost<\/strong> is the <strong>price of<\/strong> the mining equipment, its professional <strong>installation<\/strong> and the price of the <strong>electricity<\/strong> consumed. Equipment for the extraction of crypto-assets is to be <strong>depreciated<\/strong> in the appropriate depreciation class according to the nature of the equipment. <\/p>\n\n<p>Posted on 12.11.2024<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>JUDr. Mag. J\u00e1n \u010carnogursk\u00fd  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>(the author is a lawyer)<strong><br \/><\/strong><\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ulclegal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/d6986d42-a5b5-41cb-9cce-f76e248cbece.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6489 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ulclegal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/d6986d42-a5b5-41cb-9cce-f76e248cbece.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ulclegal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/d6986d42-a5b5-41cb-9cce-f76e248cbece-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ulclegal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/d6986d42-a5b5-41cb-9cce-f76e248cbece-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ulclegal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/d6986d42-a5b5-41cb-9cce-f76e248cbece-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ulclegal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/d6986d42-a5b5-41cb-9cce-f76e248cbece-480x480.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.ulclegal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/d6986d42-a5b5-41cb-9cce-f76e248cbece-992x992.jpg 992w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1024px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1024\/1024;\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cena elektriny sa prepadla do z\u00e1porn\u00fdch \u010d\u00edsel Over the past calendar year, the price of electricity generated on sunny days has increasingly approached negative values. To build a solar power plant today without a guaranteed off-take and a guaranteed price under a PPA contract carries a high risk to the project&#8217;s payback. V\u00a0tomto \u010dl\u00e1nku preto [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":8870,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","bulletin-category":[50],"class_list":["post-5614","bulletin","type-bulletin","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","bulletin-category-crypto"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ulclegal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bulletin\/5614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ulclegal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bulletin"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ulclegal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bulletin"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ulclegal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ulclegal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5614"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ulclegal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ulclegal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"bulletin-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ulclegal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bulletin-category?post=5614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}