The head of the Texas Block Chain Council said the emergency survey is invasive and targets the industry.
AUSTIN, Texas — The cryptocurrency mining industry in Texas and the rest of the nation has expanded quickly over the past few years.
A significant criticism of the industry is the amount of energy the data centers could be consuming. Just last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) started performing an emergency survey to determine how the industry impacts grid stability in the U.S.
"We're just trying to get a handle on this sector's use of electricity – how much, where it's occurring, how might it affect the electric grid in the United States, and particularly in different regions of the country," Mark Morey, a U.S. EIA senior advisor, said.
Morey said before getting approval from the Office of Management and Budget to conduct the survey, officials did research and found there are at least 137 mining facilities in the U.S., with most in Georgia, New York and Texas, which has over 30 mining sites.
The EIA's analysis also showed that in 2023, the estimated U.S. electricity demand supporting cryptocurrency mining equals annual demand ranging from more than 3 million to more than 6 million homes. The low-end of the range would equal annual electricity usage for states such as Utah and West Virginia.
"This is quite strange," President of Texas Blockchain Council Lee Bratcher said. "The EIA does collect data, but they've never done it in this way. They've never been so specific, and they've also never targeted an industry so specifically."
Bratcher, whose organization represents a good chunk of mining companies in Texas, said the survey is too invasive, politically motivated and feels targeted because no other industry is required to do this particular survey.
"We're concerned that they could put pressure on some of these big energy companies to no longer have energy contracts with Bitcoin mining data centers," Bratcher said. "It really makes no sense, given that the reason for the survey was grid stability and AI data centers and cloud computing data centers were not included, which use far more energy and are far less flexible."
When Bratcher said flexible, he was talking about a mining operator's ability to quickly turn off during tight grid conditions to help lower demand or keep the grid from failing. It's called curtailing and is something they had to do just last month during the cold snap.
"We are exploring our legal options as to how to push back against this federal overreach," Bratcher said.
Federal officials said they do dozens of surveys, and this one is no different.
"We're hopeful we can work with companies in the cryptocurrency industry so we can provide the public with a clear understanding of the energy use from this sector, much in the same way we do with all the other industries," Morey said.
Bratcher said Texas has over 30 mining sites that do about 2400mw of bitcoin mining. Bratcher said Texas bitcoin miners consume about 2% of all energy on the Texas grid, but it is flexible.
FAQs
Texas bitcoin mining industry pushes back on federal effort to get more data on energy usage. The head of the Texas Block Chain Council said the emergency survey is invasive and targets the industry.
How much energy does bitcoin mining use in Texas? ›
In September, Earthjustice reported that in one day, Texas' top five bitcoin miners used a total of 1,212 megawatts, which is as much energy as 242,400 Texas homes.
What is the Texas Blockchain Council lawsuit? ›
CASE SUMMARY
On behalf of the Texas Blockchain Council and Riot Platforms, Inc., NCLA persuaded the the Department of Energy (DOE) and Energy Information Administration (EIA) to end an attempt to force cryptocurrency mining companies to hand over sensitive information through a mandatory survey.
How does Bitcoin mining consume electricity? ›
How Is Energy Spent to Mine Bitcoin? Energy is spent in the form of electricity, which powers the computers of Bitcoin miners. These miners try to add new blocks of transactions to the blockchain, by essentially creating as many tickets to a “lottery” as possible.
What is the most energy efficient Bitcoin mining hardware? ›
What is the best Bitcoin miner? The best Bitcoin miner on the market right now is arguably the Bitmain Antminer S19j Pro+. It can output up to 122 TH/s with a power consumption of 3,355W, giving it one of the better energy efficiency ratios.
Why is Bitcoin mining in Texas? ›
Three years ago, bitcoin miners flocked to the state of Texas. The Lone Star State offered cheap power, plentiful supplies of renewable energy, and an accommodating regulatory climate. Some mining companies already operated there, but when China banned crypto mining in May 2021, a mass migration began.
Where is the largest Bitcoin mining farm in Texas? ›
It wasn't long ago when Riot Platforms launched North America's largest mining farm in Rockdale, Texas - but now they want to go even bigger. Just announced, they've begun construction at a colossal new site in Corsicana, Texas - once complete, it will become the biggest Bitcoin mining facility in the world!
What is the problem with blockchain energy consumption? ›
The big problem with blockchains and energy use
The reasons are complex, but the result is simple: As more mining capacity joins the network, the PoW puzzles have to be made harder. This way, it still takes the same amount of time to solve them; it just takes more energy.
How much electricity does it cost to mine 1 Bitcoin? ›
How Much Electricity is Needed to Mine 1 Bitcoin? As a solo miner, an average of 266,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity is required to mine a single BITCOIN (BTC). This process would take approximately seven years to complete, demanding a monthly electricity consumption of about 143 kWh.
Who benefits from bitcoin mining? ›
Miners who successfully add blocks to a blockchain automatically receive transaction processing fees and new digital tokens. Creates economic opportunities. The accessibility of crypto mining is creating new business opportunities for tech-savvy people around the world.
The Top 5 Bitcoin Miners
(BITF), Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA), Bit Digital (BTBT), CleanSpark Inc. (CLSK), and Iris Energy (IREN). Each of these companies, known for mining operations and innovative clean energy solutions for cryptocurrency mining, stands at the forefront of the growing digital currency landscape.
How much do bitcoin miners make a day? ›
Bitcoin Miners Revenue Per Day is at a current level of 32.05M, down from 36.82M yesterday and up from 24.36M one year ago. This is a change of -12.97% from yesterday and 31.59% from one year ago.
Which miner is most profitable? ›
The Bitmain Antminer S21 Hyd 335T is the most profitable Bitcoin mining machine currently, followed by the Canaan Avalon Made A1266, and MicroBit Whatsminer M50S. If you want to mine other cryptocurrencies, the Bitmain Antminer KS3, Bitmain Antminer D9, and Bitmain Antminer K7 are all solid choices.
How much energy needed to mine Bitcoin? ›
How Much Electricity is Needed to Mine 1 Bitcoin? As a solo miner, an average of 266,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity is required to mine a single Bitcoin (BTC). This process would take approximately seven years to complete, demanding a monthly electricity consumption of about 143 kWh.
How long does it take to mine 1 Bitcoin? ›
How Long Does It Take to Mine 1 Bitcoin? The reward for mining is 3.125 bitcoins. It takes the network about 10 minutes to mine one block, so it takes about 10 minutes to mine 3.125 bitcoins.
How much energy does Bitcoin mining use compared to countries? ›
The value of Bitcoin, which makes up 49% of the whole cryptocurrency market, reaches approximately $921 billion. It is believed that Bitcoin, which surpassed 167 countries in global electricity consumption, may take 26th place on the list of most electricity-consuming countries.
How many terawatts does Texas use? ›
Texas is the leading electricity-consuming state in the United States. In 2022, the state consumed roughly 475 terawatt-hours of electricity. California and Florida followed in second and third, each consuming approximately 250 terawatt-hours.
