Bitcoin
Texans Report Huge Bitcoin Mine Is Making Them Sick
About 40 miles southwest of Fort Worth, a new threat to worsen the state’s power woes may be looming. Texas is currently the hub of the Bitcoin mining world with 10 major facilities, and residents near a mine in Hood County are feeling the effects in two ways. They’re worried that cryptocurrency mining will lead to another statewide power outage. Others? They’re just getting sick.
According to a Time’s July 8 reportA Bitcoin mining site in Granbury that was recently acquired by Marathon Digital Holdings is causing residents to experience everything from heart palpitations to migraines. Granbury residents say it’s becoming impossible to live there because of the noise the site creates.
Bitcoin mining is the practice of earning Bitcoin by solving mathematical puzzles to verify transactions. But each puzzle a miner solves results in about 3,125 bitcoins. So to keep the Bitcoin flowing, larger mining facilities like the one in Granbury supposedly has 80,000 computers that operate day and night. The Granbury facility is 300 megawatts; To compare, ERCOT said last year that 1 megawatt can supply 200 homes.
To keep a facility running at full steam around the clock, a mine needs to cool its machinery. Marathon Digital Holdings’ facility in Granbury has installed large, noisy fans that are producing so much noise that it’s causing nearby residents to report health problems. According to Quartz, residents have found that the facility produces more than 85 decibels (dB) of sound, which can be dangerous over time.
Marathon Digital Holdings wrote to Time that it is working to minimize noise created at the facility.
“By the end of 2024, we aim to have replaced the majority of air-cooled containers with immersion cooling, without the need for expansion,” the statement to Time read. “Initial sound readings on immersion containers indicate favorable results in sound reduction and compliance with all relevant state noise ordinances.”
But Bitcoin mines also draw from power grids, potentially posing a risk, and specifically in Texas, which operates on its own system operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and is home to so many facilities. Currently, according to Inside Climate NewsBitcoin mines can draw up to 2,600 megawatts from the grid.
Cryptocurrency leaders say most mines are using energy that would otherwise be wasted, going into full swing at night and shutting down during the day. They also must slow operations during periods of high usage, including heat waves and winter freeze events. Still, state officials have expressed the need to keep the industry in check while still embracing cryptocurrency mining.
“Texans will ultimately pay the price,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a statement following a Senate committee meeting on the energy impact of cryptocurrency mining. according to WFAA. “I’m more interested in building the grid to serve customers in their normal homes, apartments and businesses and keep costs as low as possible for them, rather than for niche industries that have large energy demands and produce few jobs.