Bitcoin mining operations in Paducah, Kentucky, are drawing substantial electrical resources, per recent municipal disclosures. Local utility provider Paducah Power identifies two bitcoin mining firms among its 10 largest industrial electricity consumers.
Bitcoin Operations Drive Paducah’s Energy Economy
As detailed in a report by the West Kentucky Star, Doug Handley, an executive at Paducah Power, informed city officials that three digital currency operations currently source energy from the facility. Per the report, Handley characterized the arrangements as mutually advantageous, praising the miners’ negligible physical presence and their unfailing, around-the-clock financial transactions with the utility.
The report highlights Handley’s assertion that such clients offer fiscal stability without imposing logistical strain. Their operations, the report noted, demand minimal infrastructure while ensuring consistent revenue streams. According to the West Kentucky Star, Handley observed that the utility’s ten largest clients accounted for 21% of all electricity it distributed in 2024.
Among these major energy consumers, he noted that two are part of the trio of bitcoin enterprises drawing power from Paducah Power. Collectively, these two mining operations consumed 4.2% of the utility’s total electricity sales for the year. Paducah Power suggested that the third bitcoin firm operates at a level close to the 4% mark.
Handley highlighted that revenue generated from bitcoin miners has helped Paducah Power mitigate costs for its customers. The company’s administrator anticipates that bitcoin mining activity will expand further in 2025. Currently, estimates indicate that approximately 40% of Bitcoin’s global hashrate is concentrated in the United States, translating to roughly 311.76 exahash per second (EH/s) out of the total 779.39 EH/s network hashrate.
