The senator turned to the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) with the intention of finding out: what kind of load on the state’s energy system is mining and whether it affects climate change.
Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to ERCOT with six lawmakers: Sheldon Whitehouse, Edward Markey, Al Green, Katherine Porter, Jared Huffman and Rashida Tlaib. Parliamentarians demanded that ERCOT chief Pablo Vegas provide details on the impact of Texas mining companies on the state’s energy system and climate change, as well as subsidies provided to miners. Lawmakers are concerned that due to the lax regulation of cryptocurrency mining in Texas, miners have flooded the state:
“Texas has become one of the hotspots for crypto businesses, thanks to heavy lobbying from the Texas Blockchain Council, crypto leaders and politicians promising to turn the state into the bitcoin capital of the world.”
The writers of the letter cited reports that miners consume a significant amount of electricity, which leads to large carbon emissions into the atmosphere. By some estimates, Texas now accounts for about a quarter of all bitcoin mining in the US and 9% of the total computing power of the network. This share is expected to rise to 20% by the end of next year.
The senators mentioned the extreme weather conditions that are common in Texas. In July, intense heat forced local miners to turn off their equipment to avoid overstressing the power grid. In winter, miners also reduced the load on the power grid in anticipation of an abnormal snow storm.
Senators are also unhappy with subsidies for mining companies, which are paid at the expense of retail consumers.
“Bitcoin miners make money by mining it, putting a lot of strain on the power grid. And during times of peak demand for electricity, when the profitability of mining is reduced, they receive subsidies by turning off their devices and doing nothing. These subsidies are only exacerbating the climate crisis,” the letter says.
Last year, ERCOT announced that the Texas power grid was ready to increase the electricity consumption of mining centers to 5,000 MW. However, local residents are not sure that the state will cope with the new influx of miners.
Source: Bits
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