Crypto-Mining Advocates: Actually, We're Not Terrible for the Environment
A blockchain-policy event in Washington delivered a pitch for cryptocurrency mining painted in shades of green—not green as in fiat US currency, but as in environmentally sound.
The reputation of Bitcoin mining might as well be weighed down by lumps of coal. It uses so much electricity that mining firms have reopened coal-fueled power plants(Opens in a new window) to power it. But speakers at the Chamber of Digital Commerce’s DC Blockchain Summit made a case for enlightened mining, based on and boosting renewable energy.
“We're able to contribute positively to grid stability,” said Brian Morgenstern, head of public policy at mining firm Riot Platforms(Opens in a new window). Citing plentiful wind and solar power for its Rockdale, Texas, facility, he said Riot ensures it’s not wasted during off-peak hours: “We'll buy that energy when there otherwise might not be a consumer of it.”
Texas has one of America’s highest shares of renewable electricity generation—wind, solar and hydro now collectively reach 40.1%(Opens in a new window). Gas, however, still accounts for 41.8% of the total. Riot did not answer a query about energy types at its Texas facilities, but the company said in a September 2022 letter(Opens in a new window) to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee that it can’t choose generation sources on the Texas grid.
Morgensten emphasized that when demand spikes, Riot quickly idles its mining rigs: “We're able to shut down at almost a moment's notice.”
The Colorado-based firm has financial incentives to be so polite: The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages the Texas power grid, offers “demand response” rebates to industrial customers that dial back their use. Last July, Riot
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