Summary
- Texas declared itself open for bitcoin mining two years ago.
- ERCOT report mentions that prospective crypto mining businesses have requested to put 33,000 megawatts in the ERCOT interconnection queue over the next few years.
- Ed Hirs – a University of Houston energy economist – believes that a lot of these excessive electricity practices seen in the mining industry in Texas are going to fall onto the shoulders of everyday citizens.
Background
Two years ago, Texas declared itself open for Bitcoin mining. This announcement came after China said that crypto mining would be illegal within its borders. Thus, miners had to find a new place and Texas seemed like an ideal choice due to its vast land and cheap electricity.
ERCOT Report
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) recently issued a report stating that prospective crypto mining businesses have requested 33,000 more megawatts in the ERCOT interconnection queue over the next few years. This amount is enough to power the whole state of Florida. Furthermore, they noted that one Bitcoin transaction uses nearly 1,452 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity which is equal to the power consumption of an average US household for almost 50 days. Additionally, some companies are able to save money and make money by pulling levers in US power markets as they rarely asked to shut down and usually get paid even when they do turn off their systems for hours at a time. In fact, it was reported earlier that during winter storms Texas paid a specific Bitcoin mining company to stop operating which resulted in them making millions from doing nothing in several weeks.
ERCOT’s Stance
According to ERCOT they don’t want to discriminate against any business wanting to set up shop within Texas including crypto miners but they also don’t support firms looking offer certain services either.