Bitcoin Miners Shut Off Rigs as Texas Power Grid Nears Brink

[bronxiteforever]

Bitcoin Miners Shut Off Rigs as Texas Power Grid Nears Brink
Almost all large Bitcoin miners have shut down as demand peaks
Over 1,000 megawatts load is released from mining operations

ByDavid Pan
July 11, 2022, 11:02 AM EDTUpdated onJuly 11, 2022, 4:28 PM EDT
From Crypto via Bloomberg

Nearly all industrial scale Bitcoin miners in Texas have shut off their machines as the companies brace for a heat wave that is expected to push the state’s power grid near its breaking point.

Miners such as Riot Blockchain Inc., Argo Blockchain Plc and Core Scientific Inc., who operate millions of energy-intensive computers to secure the Bitcoin blockchain network and earn rewards in the token, flocked to the Lone Star State thanks to its low energy costs and liberal regulations on crypto mining. The state has become one of the largest crypto-mining hubs by computing power in the world.

“There are over 1,000 megawatts worth of Bitcoin mining load that responded to ERCOTs conservation request by turning off their machines to conserve energy for the grid.” Lee Bratcher, president of Texas Blockchain Association told Bloomberg in an email response. “This represents nearly all industrial scale Bitcoin mining load in Texas and allows for over 1% of total grid capacity to be pushed back onto the grid for retail and commercial use.”

Miners may see a drop in profitability as the heat wave keeps their machines off by sending energy prices soaring and further stressing the state’s power grid. The miners are already struggling to repay debt and raise additional capital with Bitcoin prices in sharp decline. Shares of public miners have tumbled about 75% this year.…

More here if you have the stomach

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-11/bitcoin-miners-shut-off-rigs-as-texas-power-grid-nears-brink


In my mind, nothing screams dystopian hell more than the combination of bitcoin miners, the Texas power grid, and relentless heat.

[VMA131Marine]

1. Global Bitcoin mining may generate over 65 megatons of carbon emissions per year

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2542435122000861

The energy to mine one Bitcoin is equivalent to the energy used in 330,000 credit card transactions.

[bronxiteforever]

3. +1 Thanks for the science info!

I knew it was produced by dirty energy but

[dutch777]

2. I could have sworn Abbott ordered the energy gods to make these problems go away!?!??!

Don't tell me TX is still dysfunctional ! Don't know what electrical energy costs are in TX but given Bitcoin is barely above $21k have to wonder when mining is no longer profitable. A sham alt currency mined in a sham of a state. So fitting.

[2naSalit]

4. Just another way for the...

Aristocracy to screw the rest of us.

[SergeStorms]

5. It seems the Bitcoin miners....

didn't do their homework when they decided to alight in Texas. A cursory examination of Texas's power grid should have scared them away no matter how cheap energy is when its available.

Maybe they should invest in a shitload of Generacs.

[eppur_se_muova]

6. and Republicans. Gotta include the GQP, or it's just not dystopian enough. nt

[bronxiteforever]

11. +1 excellent point. Sorry I forgot.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

7. I was expecting The Onion

I've had 2 ponds dug and a basement. I've dug the foundations for 2 other buildings on the place, myself. Ain't never seen one of them bitcoins rounchere. What's one of them things look like in its natural habitat? Do you find them in red clay or sandstone? That's about all there is here.

[comradebillyboy]

8. First time I ever heard of a Bitcoin miner doing the ethical thing.

Got zero sympathy for anybody involved the crypto currency cult.

[WarGamer]

9. look at the price of crypto... might not be profitable to mine right now.

[ARPad95]

10. Be careful what you wish for, Texas!

How Bitcoin mining devastated this New York town
Between rising electricity rates and soaring climate costs, cryptomining is taking its toll on communities.

[snip]

People began scouring the world for cheap sources of energy to run large Bitcoin-mining farms using these circuits. Cryptocurrency notoriously devours electricity; each Bitcoin transaction consumes 1,173 kilowatt-hours—more than the average American uses in a month. In 2020, the world’s crypto mining required more energy than the whole of Switzerland. At the time, Plattsburgh had some of the least expensive power anywhere in the United States, thanks to cheap hydroelectricity from the Niagara Power Authority.

[snip]

Coinmint filled the building with servers, running them 24 hours a day. When the miners wanted to expand into a nearby shopping center, Bill Treacy, the manager of the Plattsburgh municipal lighting department, told them that they would have to invest $140,000 in new infrastructure. He was surprised when they weren’t discouraged. Soon, the company was regularly drawing over 10 megawatts, enough power for about 4,000 homes.

[snip]

Economist Matteo Benetton, a coauthor of the paper and a professor at the Hass School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, says that crypto mining can depress local economies. In places with fixed electricity supplies, operations suck up grid capacity, potentially leading to supply shortages, rationing, and blackouts. Even in places with ample access to power, like upstate New York, mining can crowd out other potential industries that might have employed more people. “While there are private benefits, through the electricity market, there are social costs,” Benetton says.

Full article at this link:

https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/04/18/1049331/bitcoin-cryptocurrency-cryptomining-new-york/

[bronxiteforever]

14. +1 essential reading thank you!

[texasfiddler]

15. Each Bitcoin transaction consumes 1,173 kilowatt-hrs--more than the average American uses in a month

I am convinced this anonymous form of confirming monetary transactions with blockchain only benefits money launderers, drug lords, human trafficking, ransomware transactions, etc. The only benefit is the anonymous part. At 10 cents per kWhr that is $117 per transaction. That is not sustainable. I can make some fast and meaningful transactions at a traditional bank for much less $$ than that. The difference is my transaction is fully documented and traced back to me. I have nothing to hide. Plus, all the additional CO2 in the atmosphere. I agree with Warren Buffet and his advisors, this will fail miserably.

[MissB]

12. I clearly do not understand bitcoin.

That is all.

[ecstatic]

13. wtf?? I had no idea. nt

[Hortensis]

16. Agree with your hellishly dystopian take. Add in whole

subdivisions without tree shade or alternate power sources when the power goes down with temperatures in the 90s and above. Many homes built to be air tight and baking in the sun like ovens can quickly become unlivable and have to be evacuated. Many yards have no shade to retreat to.

[bronxiteforever]

17. +1 those homes don't sound livable as climate change progresses.