Near-Doubling Of Demand For TX Electrical Grid Projected By 2030, Most Of It From Bitcoin & Data Centers

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The energy consumed by data centers has come under increased scrutiny as a surge in electricty demand fueled by both artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency mining conflicts with U.S. emissions reduction goals. For example, Texas has the highest concentration of Bitcoin mines, some of which are drawing energy directly from fossil fuel power plants.

In Texas, Bitcoin mining facilities are major players in the energy market, able to profit in ways beyond their energy-intensive computations. After locking in low rates to purchase electricity, they can make handsome profits selling power at higher rates on the wholesale market in times of peak demand, and by participating in so-called “demand response” programs in which they are paid a premium for allowing grid operators to reduce the Bitcoin mines’ energy demands when power is needed elsewhere. In those cases, the cost of the premiums paid to the Bitcoin mines are passed along to Texas consumers.

The peak electricity demand on the state’s main power grid could nearly double by 2030, with cryptocurrency mining making up the greatest share of about 43,000 megawatts of large loads looking to connect to the grid in the next three years, according to estimates from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.

However, even grid system operators such as ERCOT are not certain exactly how much energy consumption is from cryptocurrency. While Bitcoin miners feel that their industry is being unfairly singled out by EIA, critics of the largely unregulated industry see transparency as a critical step to ensuring the grid remains reliable in the transition to decarbonized energy systems.
“Utilities and anyone who depends on reliable, affordable electricity should support the EIA’s effort to bring transparency to this energy-intensive industry,” said Caroline Weinberg, a senior research and policy analyst for the environmental law nonprofit Earthjustice.

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https://insideclimatenews.org/news/11072024/us-energy-information-agency-bitcoin-mining-electricity-usage-data/