Bitcoin Mining In Texas Remains Undeterred Amid Concerns Over Power Consumption

Texas’ Bitcoin mining industry has shown growth amid turmoil in the crypto industry and concerns over power consumption. Power consumption of Bitcoin miners in the state has risen 75% over the past year. Some counties in the state of Texas have offered tax incentives along with wind and solar energy to miners. A Texas lawmaker recently introduced legislation to protect miners operating in the state. 

The ripples from the turmoil in the broader crypto industry seem to have missed the bitcoin mining industry of Texas. The growth in the power demands from the mining sector indicates that the bitcoin miners of the Lone Star State remain undeterred amid rising concerns over electric power consumption.

Power consumption from Bitcoin Mining rose 75% last year

According to a report from Reuters, bitcoin miners in Texas consume roughly 2100 megawatts of the state’s power supply. Lee Bratcher, the President of the Texas Blockchain Council, revealed that power usage rose 75% over the last year. Bratcher added that the latest power usage metric was almost triple that of the prior year. Data gathered by grid operator Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), found that the Texas bitcoin mining industry’s power demand accounts for nearly 3.7% of the state’s lowest forecast peak load this year. 

The growing power consumption by bitcoin miners has become a concern for the state where over 240 people lost their lives after a winter storm caused outages in the state’s power grid in 2021. The prospect of more electricity being allotted to the power-hungry mining equipment has raised quite a few eyebrows. 

There are a lot of Bitcoin mines that are trying to connect to the system. If all of them were to connect in the timelines that they are looking to connect, then it probably would present an issue to the grid because that load would be growing way faster than it ever has before.”

Joshua Rhodes, research scientist, University of Texas at Austin. 

Despite the concerns surrounding bitcoin mining and its power consumption, several counties in the state of Texas have welcomed this sector by offering tax incentives and permission to draw power from wind and solar energy. Earlier this week, Cody Harris, who represents Texas’ 8th Congressional district, introduced a bill that sought to recognize the right to mine Bitcoin in the state.