Mining bitcoin with gas: flare gas, biogas and generators – when it pays off

Mining bitcoin with gas only pays off if you have gas you cannot otherwise sell or use – for example flared gas from oil wells, biogas after the end of operating subsidies, or landfill gas. A gas generator turns it into electricity right on site and ASIC miners turn that electricity into bitcoin. With natural gas at a normal market price, mining does not pay off today: electricity from a generator costs more than a miner earns per kilowatt-hour.

Summary

• A gas generator converts roughly 35–45% of the energy in the gas into electricity. For 1 kWh of electricity you therefore burn about 2.2–2.9 kWh of gas.
• A modern miner (13.5 J/TH) currently earns about 2.24 Kč for every kWh it consumes (as of 2 Nov 2026). Gas therefore only pays off below roughly 850 Kč per MWh – and that is before engine servicing and the cost of the machines.
• It makes sense for sources with no other outlet: flare gas, biogas plants after the end of subsidies, landfills, sites without a grid connection.
• In the Czech Republic the topic mainly concerns biogas plants: more than 600 are in operation and their twenty-year subsidies are gradually ending by 2033.

How mining bitcoin with gas works

The principle is simple. Instead of being burned in a flare or vented into the atmosphere, the gas is fed into a piston engine with a generator. This produces electricity that is consumed on the spot by ASIC miners in a container. No grid connection and no distribution fees are needed.

Mining is a suitable “consumer” for such a site for three reasons: it runs non-stop at a constant load, a container can be brought to a well or biogas plant within weeks, and the reward (bitcoin) can be sold anywhere in the world. You do not need to build a pipeline or find a buyer for the electricity.

Which gases come into question:

• Associated (flare) gas from oil wells – produced during oil extraction and, where there is no pipeline, burned in a flare.
• Biogas from agricultural biogas plants.
• Landfill and mine gas – methane that is otherwise burned or escapes.
• Natural gas from the grid – technically possible, economically almost never viable in Europe (see the calculation below).

Why gas mining is being discussed right now

According to the World Bank, 167 billion m³ of gas worth roughly 54 billion dollars was flared in 2025. Flaring grew for the third year in a row. The most gas is flared by Russia, Iran, Iraq, Venezuela, Mexico, Libya, Algeria, Nigeria and the USA.

The largest company in the field, the US-based Crusoe, operated more than 425 modular data centres with a capacity of 270 MW at well sites. In March 2025 it sold this mining business to NYDIG and refocused on AI. So the technology works at scale – it is just run by others today.

In Europe, EU Regulation 2024/1787 on reducing methane emissions has applied since 4 Aug 2024. It bans routine flaring and venting of gas in oil and gas production – exceptions apply only to emergencies and malfunctions. For European miners the second source is therefore more interesting: biogas. There are more than 600 biogas plants in the Czech Republic. Their operating subsidies last 20 years; the first lost them at the end of 2025 and by 2031 more than half will lose them (analysis by EGÚ Brno).

How much electricity from a gas generator costs

The fuel cost is easy to calculate: the gas price per MWh divided by the generator efficiency. Large gas engines reach an electrical efficiency of up to 45% (e.g. Cat CG170B). Smaller gensets of around 250 kW are typically less efficient, so the table assumes 38%.

On top of the fuel come engine servicing (oil, spark plugs, overhauls), rental of or repayments on the generator, and operating staff. In Europe, electricity from grid gas therefore ends up more expensive than ordinary grid electricity.

How much one kilowatt-hour earns in a miner

The bitcoin network currently pays approximately 0,73 Kč per 1 TH/s per day. From this and the miner’s efficiency (J/TH) you can work out how many korunas each consumed kWh earns. If your fuel costs more, you are mining at a loss.

These are gross earnings before servicing, depreciation of the machines and pool fees. Earnings change with the bitcoin price and network difficulty – we track the current hashrate and difficulty on the mining statistics page. The next halving in 2028 will cut the block reward in half.

Example: a 500 kW container on biogas or flare gas

We offer an air-cooled container with a 500 kW gas power plant (40 ft, 2 generators of 250 kW each, 140 slots, indicatively from 3.72 million Kč) and a hydro version with 96 slots (from 5.51 million Kč). Our model calculation for the air-cooled version, as of 2 Nov 2026:

1. You install 130 Antminer S21 XP units (3,645 W). In total 35,100 TH/s and a power draw of 474 kW – the remaining capacity is a reserve for ventilation and losses.
2. Gross earnings: 35,100 × 0.7269 Kč ≈ 25,500 Kč per day.
3. Consumption: 474 kW × 24 h = 11.4 MWh of electricity. At 38% efficiency that is about 29.9 MWh of fuel; for natural gas (~10.5 kWh/m³) roughly 2,850 m³ per day.
4. With gas at 1,000 Kč/MWh you pay ~29,900 Kč a day for fuel – you are mining at a loss even before servicing.
5. With gas at 500 Kč/MWh you pay ~15,000 Kč, leaving ~10,500 Kč a day for servicing, operation and repaying the container and miners.
6. With gas you would otherwise flare or have no buyer for, the fuel is practically free. Then the cost of the equipment and servicing is what matters.

Who gas mining makes sense for

• Biogas plants after the end of subsidies that have no attractive outlet for their electricity and cannot switch to biomethane. Mining can be one option alongside own consumption and selling to the grid.
• Owners of wells and landfills with gas they currently flare or do not use.
• Sites without a grid connection where gas is available and building a connection would take years.

For a household or company with an ordinary gas connection it makes no sense. A cheaper route is to place your miners in our hosting, where electricity costs from 1,14 Kč/kWh.

What to watch out for

• Permits and emissions: your own power source needs a permit and must meet emission limits. Conditions vary by country and size of the source – check them with the authorities in advance.
• Fluctuating gas supply: the flow from a well or biogas plant is not always steady. When it drops, the control system must switch off some of the miners, otherwise the generator will not cope.
• Engine servicing: a piston engine needs regular maintenance and downtime. Factor this into both costs and operating time.
• Noise and heat: both the generator and the miners are loud. The hydro version can reuse waste heat, for example to heat the fermenter.
• Earnings change: the calculations above apply as of 2 Nov 2026. If the bitcoin price falls or difficulty rises, earnings per kWh fall too.

How to proceed

1. Measure how much gas you have (m³ per day) and how steady the flow is.
2. Find out the gas composition – the share of methane and impurities (sulphur) affects the choice of engine.
3. Calculate your gas price: what other uses bring you today, or what it costs to burn it.
4. Compare it with the table above – the threshold today is around 650–960 Kč/MWh depending on the miner.
5. Check permits and emission limits for your source.
6. Send us your requirements. We handle the container, miners and commissioning as part of our Turnkey farm service.

What next

• Containers for miners – air-cooled, hydro, immersion and with a gas power plant.
• Turnkey farm – design, delivery and commissioning of mining at your energy source.
• Mining with surplus solar power – a similar principle for solar electricity.

Sources

• World Bank: Global Gas Flaring Tracker 2026 (23 Jun 2026)
• Cointelegraph: Crusoe sells its mining division to NYDIG (25 Mar 2025)
• Argus Media: Bitcoin miners help US oil producers cut flaring
• Gleiss Lutz: EU Regulation 2024/1787 on methane emissions
• oEnergetice.cz: Subsidies for biogas plants will end (EGÚ Brno)
• Caterpillar: CG170B-12 gas genset – specifications
• oEnergetice.cz: TTF natural gas price