Cryptomining energy consumption goes under investigation in US
Image: Argo Blockchain
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has launched a survey on the electricity consumption of cryptocurrency mining in the country.
The EIA is running the survey from February through July 2024 with identified commercial cryptocurrency miners, who are required to respond with details related to their energy use.
The Administration also is soliciting public comment on the collection of this energy use data.
“We intend to continue to analyse and write about the energy implications of cryptocurrency mining activities in the United States,” said EIA Administrator Joe DeCarolis.
Have you read?
Tech Talk | The role of digitalisation in energy saving
Energy Transitions Podcast: The value of circular asset management
“We will specifically focus on how the energy demand for cryptocurrency mining is evolving, identify geographic areas of high growth and quantify the sources of electricity used to meet mining demand.”
Concern has been growing over the energy consumption of cryptocurrency mining and Bitcoin in particular in the US, as it has also in other countries.
Based on a combination of data from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, one of the main monitoring databases, and data that could be garnered on cryptocurrency facilities in the US, the EIA has made a preliminary estimate that the annual electricity consumption of cryptocurrency mining is between 0.6% to 2.3% of that of the country as a whole.
The EIA notes in its analysis that while crypto mining began in the US about a decade ago, the activity began to expand rapidly in 2019, with the recent growth largely due to mining operations relocating from China after that country’s crackdown in 2021.
Key challenges, however, are the difficulty of identifying cryptocurrency mining activities among all the end users given their range of sizes and that mining assets can be moved rapidly to areas with lower energy prices.
The EIA says that developing more information about cryptocurrency mining in the US and its effects on electricity demand is important to provide context for energy policymakers, energy planners and the general public.
For example, in its latest long-term reliability assessment released in December 2023, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) highlights cryptocurrency mining as an ‘emerging issue’, stating: “Due to unique characteristics of the operations associated with cryptocurrency mining, potential growth can have a significant effect on demand and resource projections as well as system operations.”
In particular, ERCOT continues to see a large volume of interconnect requests currently totalling 41GW, for which 9GW have had planning studies approved.
The EIA expects to publish more detailed information about cryptocurrency mining use of electricity, based on the newly acquired data in the second half of 2024.
The Administration also intends to track and review other data, such as that of the Cambridge index.
