Crypto miners eye cheap power in Texas, but fears aired over impact on the grid
Miners dislocated by China’s crackdown are looking to Texas for cheap electricity, but the state’s grid is already on the brink of disaster amid a sweltering summer. The recent crackdown on crypto mining in China has seen concerns expressed over the potential impact a hashrate migration could have on Texas’ unreliable electricity market, as an increasing number of dislocated miners eye the Lone Star State.Texas’ abundant sources of renewable energy and highly deregulated power grid make the state an obvious choice for migrating miners from China and elsewhere, with 20% of Texan electricity....
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While the state is eager to become the global hub for Bitcoin mining operations, residents are concerned that the power grid will not be able to handle the load. As the state of Texas faces a rapid influx of Bitcoin mining operations, its electrical infrastructure will have to support the industry’s expected 5,000 megawatts (MW) of additional power demands by 2023.The Bitcoin mining industry in Texas currently consumes around 500 to 1,000 MW of power. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) anticipates that demand could increase as much as fivefold by 2023 and has planned an....
Kristy-Leigh Minehan said the state doesn't currently have enough mining infrastructure to cause significant problems for the power supply. Though many Texans are still suffering in the aftermath of a winter storm that left millions without power and running water for days, it’s unlikely that the crypto mining farms in the state played much of a role during the crisis.Speaking to Cointelegraph, Kristy-Leigh Minehan, a mining consultant and chief technology officer of NEM Software, said Texas doesn’t currently have enough mining infrastructure to cause significant problems in the power grid....
Crypto miners in Ya'an City have reportedly been ordered to temporarily shut down their operations. Chinese authorities continue to crack down on cryptocurrency mining as a city in Sichuan province has reportedly halted local Bitcoin (BTC) mining farms.Authorities in Ya’an City, a prefecture-level city in the western part of Sichuan province, have ordered local Bitcoin mining operations to shut down for examination, Chinese financial publication Sina Finance reported Friday.Citing an anonymous source from Chinese news agency PA News, the report said that it is unclear when or whether....
Extreme heat won’t stop miners from setting up operations in Texas, but more sustainable practices may be required. Record-breaking heat waves are being documented across the world as extreme weather is worsening due to climate change. States throughout America are continuing to see temperatures rise above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), while the United Kingdom recently saw temperatures reach 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius). While hot climates may be unusual for many of these regions, Texas — a state notorious for its boiling summers — is experiencing....
“The U.S. is where the action is in terms of markets, so we plan to be in at least another couple of states as well as Texas with some diversified offering," said CEO Andy Long. Amid many cryptocurrency mining firms in Texas scaling down operations to reduce the load on the power grid, at least one company set up miners not quite as affected by the state’s energy requirements during extreme heat.In June, White Rock Management expanded its crypto mining operations to Texas — its first in the United States — but reported its facility in the Brazos Valley region would mine Bitcoin (BTC) using....