Lucas Martin
Seven US legislators said in a letter that ERCOT was “closely tied” to the rise of cryptocurrency miners in Texas.
Six additional US senators joined Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren in requesting information from the head of the Texas Electricity Reliability Council (ERCOT) regarding the energy use and potential environmental effects of cryptocurrency miners.
Senators Elizabeth Warren, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Edward Markey, along with Representatives Al Green, Katie Porter, Jared Huffman, and Rashida Tlaib, wrote to ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas on October 12 to ask him to elaborate on the effects of Texas cryptocurrency mining companies on global stability, the government’s power grid, climate change, and corporate subsidies. In the letter, US legislators asserted that Texas experienced a “flood” of cryptocurrency miners as a result of Texas’loose restrictions.
According to the Texas Blockchain Council, Texas has become “one of the go-to destinations for crypto entrepreneurs” as a result of the state’s active lobbying on behalf of the government and promises from both crypto CEOs and state politicians to turn the state into the “Bitcoin capital of the world.” In the letter, he referred to “The Citadel for Bitcoin” and “the center of the universe for bitcoin and crypto,” citing different media, including our news. “This increase in crypto mining is largely related to
In addition to ERCOT, U.S. senators contend that cryptocurrency miners utilize “large amounts of electricity,” resulting in “substantial carbon emissions” and other effects on air quality, perhaps giving priority to enterprises’ energy demands in the future, raising prices for retail consumers. They also mentioned “extreme weather events caused by climate change” in Texas, including as the state’s 2021 winter storm and the 2022 heatwave, which had earlier increased grid demand.
Warren and other lawmakers from the House and Senate also targeted subsidies at the state’s crypto miners, which decreased during periods of high demand. The letter claims that companies like Riot Blockchain receive “substantial” payments from subsidies and “earn money from mining that puts considerable burden on the electricity infrastructure.”
According to the letter, “these payments help shift the burden of maintaining the power infrastructure from industries with excessive electricity usage, such as crypto miners, to consumers.”
US lawmakers asked Vegas to provide information on the annual energy consumption and corresponding carbon dioxide emissions of crypto miners operating in Texas starting in 2017. They also requested detailed information on the agreements between ERCOT and mining firms regarding payments during peak demand periods and how companies can respond to increased grid load in the future. The letter demanded a response by 31 October.
Some have stated that businesses building up operations may gain cheaper energy by supporting infrastructure, despite the fact that numerous reports have targeted cryptocurrency miners in Texas owing to weather occurrences that boost demand on the state’s power grid. In an August report, the Texas Comptroller’s Office suggested that the relationship between mining companies and the energy sector is more symbiotic and that subsidies benefit both parties.