- Texas Bitcoin mining industry has shown growth amid crypto industry turmoil and power consumption concerns.
- The power consumption of Bitcoin miners in the state has increased by 75% in the past year.
- Some counties in the state of Texas have offered tax breaks to miners in addition to wind and solar power.
- A Texas lawmaker recently introduced legislation to protect miners operating in the state.
The ripples of the turmoil in the wider crypto industry seem to have missed Texas’ bitcoin mining industry. The growth in the mining industry’s power needs indicates that the Lone Star State’s bitcoin miners remain undaunted amid growing concerns about electricity consumption.
Bitcoin Mining Power Consumption Increased 75% Last Year
According to a report by Reuters, bitcoin miners in Texas consume about 2100 megawatts of the state’s power supply. Lee Bratcher, the chairman of the Texas Blockchain Council, revealed that power consumption has increased by 75% in the past year. Bratcher added that the latest energy consumption metric was nearly three times higher than the previous year’s. Data collected by grid operator Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), found that power demand from the Texas bitcoin mining industry accounts for nearly 3.7% of the state’s lowest predicted peak load this year.
Growing power consumption by bitcoin miners has become a concern for the state where more than 240 people lost their lives after a winter storm in 2021 caused blackouts to the state’s power grid. The prospect of more electricity being allocated to energy-guzzling mining equipment has raised quite a few eyebrows.
There are many Bitcoin mines trying to connect to the system. If they all connected in the timelines they want to connect, then that would probably be a problem for the power grid, because that load would grow much faster than ever before.”
Joshua Rhodes, Researcher, University of Texas at Austin.
Despite concerns about bitcoin mining and its power consumption, several counties in the state of Texas have welcomed this industry by offering tax breaks and permitting power to be generated from wind and solar energy. Earlier this week, Cody Harris, who represents Texas’s 8th congressional district, introduced a account who wanted to recognize the right to mine Bitcoin in the state.
