- Bitcoin Miners have stopped mining operations in Texas to relieve pressure from the power grid.
- SATO CEO Nouzareth says managing loads of electricity through curtailment is beneficial for BTC miners.
- Concerns around energy consumption in BTC mining are increasing with each day.
As of July 10th, Bitcoin miners in Texas have suspended mining operations. The reason behind the resume of operations are the record temperatures across various regions in the US and Europe. Therefore, to release pressure from the power grid around 16 firms in Texas curtailed operations.
The firms managed to return 1,000 megawatts of power to the grid, which is around 1%.
Commenting on this, CEO of Argo blockchain, Peter Wall said since only 1% is given back hence ensuring that there are no brownouts. Moreover, there will be no issue of not being able to meet demand. In addition, Wall acknowledged economic incentives involved in curtailment. These include saving on transmission charges in the coming year.
Meanwhile Romain Nouzareth, CEO of BTC mining firm SATO, said that, “it’s important to take care of the grid where you are.” Nouzareth also explained that managing loads of electricity through curtailment is beneficial for Bitcoin miners globally.
For the uninitiated, curtailment refers to a volunteer reduction in output less than the optimum production. With the purpose of balancing energy demand and supply. Or the other purpose could be to address transmission and demand constraints. Nouzareth also shares that alternative energy sources such as wind and hydropower are used in Bitcoin mining operations.
Concerns around energy consumption especially in proof-of-work (PoW) blockchains such as Bitcoin are rising day by day. Organized by Michael Saylor, CEO of Microstrategy, the Bitcoin Mining Council was established in June 2021. This was after billionaire Elon Musk refused to accept anymore BTC in Tesla due to increasing fossil fuels use for mining and transactions.
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2022/07/21/why-bitcoin-miners-in-texas-have-suspended-mining-operations/