Bitcoin mining companies in Texas shut down their machines in anticipation of extreme weather conditions. In some parts of the state, temperatures are expected to exceed 40 degrees (Celsius), which, coupled with the power consumption of the above firms, could lead to power network outages.
brace for heat wave
In an interview for Bloomberg, Texas Blockchain Association President Lee Bracher revealed that nearly all major bitcoin miners in Texas have shut down their machinery as meteorologists predict a warm week for the region. Due to its crypto-friendly stance and low electricity prices, major companies including Riot Blockchain and Argo Blockchain have a strong presence in the state.
Those firms manage many of the energy-intensive supercomputers needed to mine bitcoins. Along with a heat wave, it can cause problems for the state’s power grid and leave the population with unstable electricity supplies.
Bratcher said that more than 1,000 megawatts of bitcoin mining load had been turned off in order to conserve energy for the state’s network.
“This represents almost all of the industrial-scale bitcoin mining load in Texas and allows more than 1% of the total grid capacity to be pushed back onto the grid for retail and commercial use,” he said.
Last Friday, the state marked its all-time peak record for energy use of 78,206 MW. Interestingly, then the temperature was hovering around 37-38 degrees (Celsius), while it is expected to cross 40 this week.
The state’s electricity operator – the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) – monitors the activity of local bitcoin miners and said that such extreme situations require those companies to shut down their machines.
The organization estimates those companies could increase their electricity demand to six gigawatts by the middle of next year, which would be enough energy to power every home in Houston.
problem in montana
Another US state that was affected by unpleasant weather conditions was Montana. Last month a severe storm paralyzed 75% of Marathon Digital’s operations. Bitcoin miners believe that the issue will be partially resolved in July. However, productivity will drop significantly until all pitfalls are resolved.
Earlier this year, Marathon revealed its intention to move some of its mining equipment to other regions, such as Texas. Given the problems in Montana, the firm may speed up those plans. Fred Thiel – President and CEO – explained:
“Getting miners back fully online will take time, and we are committed to doing everything we can to rebuild our hash rate and improve our bitcoin production… aside from this incident, manufacturing and installation in Texas Continuing as scheduled, and given the current macro environment, our pipeline of potential new hosting arrangements remains strong.”
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