US Congress Group Is Disturbed By Crypto Mining Energy Usage

A US Congress group of six Democratic lawmakers is disturbed by crypto mining energy usage since they found that the miners consume enough energy to power all households in Houston, Texas. In today’s crypto news, we are reading more bout their concerns.

In a letter sent to the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, the democrats led by Jared Huffman and Elizabeth Warren requested these agencies’ bigger emissions and energy use reporting from the mining industry. The lawmakers noted:

“The results of our investigation … are disturbing … revealing that [crypto miners] are large energy users that account for a significant – and rapidly growing – amount of carbon emissions.  Our investigation suggests that the overall U.S. crypto mining industry is likely to be problematic for energy and emissions.”

The lawmakers said that the top seven mining companies developed over 1045 megawatts of energy capacity for their mining operations which is enough to power residences in Houston. The group was alarmed by the plans to increase the capacity by 2305 which is enough to power another 1.9 million households. The US congress group noted that they still have little information about the scope of mining activity and requested the two agencies to work together and require reporting of the energy use and emissions from the miners. The group also asked for a response from the DOE and the EPA.

This is not the first time that lawmakers urged federal agencies to look into the energy consumption of the miners. Huffman and 22 members of Congress all sent a letter to the EPA and raised their concerns about how BTC mining can pollute communities and will have a contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. In response to this letter, a group of investors like Michael Saylor and Jack Dorsey defended the mining process and discussed the many misconceptions about the impacts on the environment.

The emissions issue was debated widely and among the recent actions by the US policymakers was the US SEC proposing that all of the publicly traded companies report greenhouse gas emissions from their operations as well as the amount of energy that they consume. The mining industry welcomed the move hoping to shed more light on efforts at using other energy sources. There were also some moves at the state level with the NY Senate passing a moratorium on BTC mining but it was actually a two-year freeze on starting the new mining facilities which rely on carbon-based fuel.

The mining industry was vocal against the lawmakers’ push to curb energy usage and the BTC mining Council said that the surveys show there were improvements in the use of sustainable power mix by the miners and technological efficiency.