Under the influence of the heat wave, many parts of the United States are facing a power shortage crisis. As a popular area for cryptocurrency mining, Texas has also issued warnings for several days. Some experts are more worried that the cryptocurrency mining industry may cause a power outage crisis.
Texas power shortage, cryptocurrency mining or power outage crisis
The hot weather in the United States continues, and households’ air-conditioning power consumption has surged, resulting in a shortage of energy reserves in various districts. The Texas grid operator even calls on Texas residents and businesses to minimize power consumption and work together to save energy. Even the cryptocurrency mining companies that consume a lot of electricity on weekdays spontaneously suspend mining during the heat wave, saving up to 1 gigawatt of electricity, accounting for 1% of the entire Texas power grid, which greatly relieves the local power supply system. pressure.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state’s main grid operator, said it would need at least 78 gigawatts of power to meet peak summer demand, and the Texas grid currently only provides about 92,000 gigawatts at most. megawatts, if mining activity continues to grow, it could overwhelm the Texas grid, leading to rolling blackouts.
How Texas became a mining hotspot
Since China announced a complete ban on cryptocurrency transactions in 2018, many cryptocurrency mining companies have moved their operations to Texas, the United States.
Texas is located in the south-central United States. It has complete wind and solar power generation facilities, which can provide miners with a steady stream of electricity. Texas Governor Greg Abbott and German Senator Ted Cruz have repeatedly publicly encouraged cryptocurrency miners to develop in Texas. At present, nearly 25% of bitcoin mining in the United States is based in Texas.
While Texas is well-positioned for the growth of the cryptocurrency industry, the power required to operate a mining site and its consumption soaring far exceeds the capacity of the Texas grid. On the other hand, local Texans may also need to communicate with the mining site. Competing for electricity, which means electricity bills can increase dramatically at any time, has a major impact on the Texas grid supply chain.
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