Simply 137 crypto miners use 2.3% of complete U.S. energy — authorities now requiring industrial miners to report power consumption

The usEnergy Data Administration (EIA) is now requiring large-scale industrial cryptocurrency mining operations to report their energy consumption. This initiative is an element of a bigger effort to manage and penalize cryptocurrency mining because of the exorbitant quantity of power the business consumes yearly. For now, the EIA is simply accumulating information, however this new information ought to give beginning to new rules that can penalize miners sooner or later. This comes as the corporate has released a study (first reported on by Inside Climate News) suggesting that cryptocurrency mining represents as much as 2.3% of U.S. energy demand.

“We intend to proceed to investigate and write in regards to the power implications of cryptocurrency mining actions in the US…,” EIA administratior Joe DeCarolis said in a release in January. “We are going to particularly give attention to how the power demand for cryptocurrency mining is evolving, determine geographic areas of excessive development, and quantify the sources of electrical energy used to satisfy cryptocurrency mining demand.”

DeCarolis’ phrases summarize that the US pays shut consideration to the environmental challenges cryptocurrency mining is likely to be inflicting. We will surmise that the US authorities particularly desires to crack down on mining operations that affect the reliability and sustainability of energy in extremely populated areas. Probably resulting in larger residential energy prices and energy scarcity points throughout peak hours. As of January 2024, the EIA has recognized 137 cryptomining amenities. 

The EIA discovered that crypto-mining operations in the US has grown considerably over the previous few years, to the purpose the place all U.S-based crypto-mining operations eat 0.6% to 2.3% of the nation’s total electrical energy consumption alone. For comparability, the overall U.S. Bitcoin mining business consumes the annual energy price range of Utah or West Virginia. The estimated energy draw of Bitcoin mining worldwide is projected to be anyplace between 0.2% to 0.9% of worldwide demand, equating to the identical energy draw as Greece or Australia by themselves.