This story is published in partnership with Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment.
Granbury residents are raising alarms over noise from a local Bitcoin mine, while state lawmakers warn that the energy-hungry facilities risk “crashing” the electrical grid.
Since the facility opened, Shadden said her animals are restless, and some of her dogs have pulled out their own fur. In late June, Shadden went to a doctor to get her hearing examined, and tests found she had suffered permanent hearing loss. She believes her animals’ behavior and her hearing loss were caused by the noise from the Bitcoin mine.
The system is designed so that it takes an average of 10 minutes for a Bitcoin miner somewhere in the world to guess a code and verify a transaction. But as Bitcoin miners add computing power to verify more transactions, the system’s algorithm makes the process harder by generating longer codes, creating what has been called anDuring cold spells or heat waves, Texans are commonly called on to conserve power.
ERCOT estimates that as much as 43,600 megawatts of additional electricity demand will be added to the grid by 2027 from facilities classified as “Large Flexible Loads” requiring more than 75 megawatts. In a statement to Inside Climate News, ERCOT said, “currently, the crypto mining industry represents the largest share of large flexible loads seeking to interconnect to the ERCOT System.
In an application to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Constellation said the power plant expansion would include eight turbines, and it applied for air permits to release more than 796,000 additional tons of carbon dioxide per year. Such massive greenhouse gas emissions have made cryptocurrency mining the focus of intense opposition by climate activists.
Separately, Bitcoin companies can participate in demand response programs, in which the companies allow ERCOT operators to control the energy load of the facility and lower their usage to compensate for sudden outages or periods of high demand elsewhere on the grid. These situations arise most often during extreme weather. Companies get paid a premium by ERCOT for participating in demand response, and they get paid an additional fee each time their energy load is controlled through the program.
As DeRoche explains, “if the price of Bitcoin is fairly low, then there's more incentive to turn off in peak demand or in extreme weather.” “Without these commitments, many renewable energy projects might never reach completion,” Crawford said. Despite being located directly alongside a natural gas plant in Granbury, Marathon’s other facilities in Texas are located near wind power, and Crawford said, “we are contributing to the displacement of fossil fuel generation.
A wall on the east side of the Bitcoin facility where it borders a small community of mobile homes was built to dampen the sound. But Shadden, who lives northwest of the mine, said the sound reverberates off the wall, and depending on atmospheric conditions, neighbors miles away hear the noise. Even with first steps taken by Marathon, she said the noise is as bad as ever.
Texas Grid Bitcoin Constellation Energy Riot Platforms Ercot Texas Commission On Environmental Quality Marathon Digital State Sen José Menéndez San Antonio
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