News

Texas Needs Energy Amid Rise of Electric Vehicles, Data Centers, Crypto Mining – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Published

9 months ago

10 May, 2024

Texas Needs Energy Amid Rise of Electric Vehicles, Data Centers, Crypto Mining – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Bitcoin mining, electric cars, new artificial intelligence data centers and heavy industry’s shift from combustion engines to electric motors could mean the state will have to nearly double its energy supply over the next decade. At least that’s according to a late April update from ERCOT leaders.

The stakes are high as memories of deadly power outages during a winter storm in 2021 still haunt Texans’ memories. Last summer, ERCOT issued a historic amount of weather warnings and issued calls to conserve energy as the grid struggled to keep up during scorching days.

All of this comes as the State of Texas is investing billions of dollars to build new natural gas plants and the policies and resources are coming from Washington DC to transition the economy to a greener, cleaner future. There’s ongoing debate about whether the transition is happening too fast or too slowly, but experts tell Lone Star Politics that it’s been decades since this much change has occurred in energy markets.

The large increase in energy use led the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, to change its forecast upward by 37% from last year.

During the last board of directors, CEO Pablo Vegas explained what will happen in the coming years and how ERCOT is preparing.

“The tools and parts are all here to allow us to be able to respond quickly. We have all the resources to do that at ERCOT. It’s a matter of getting the engine in place and running and developing those resources here,” Vegas said .

In Las Vegas’ “new planning era” presentation, he said electricity demand will increase from 111 gigawatts per hour to 152 gigawatts per hour. In August 2023, Texas set its all-time demand record with 85.8 gigawatts per hour.

Texas already has a pretty diverse set of feeders. Every day you’ll see on an ERCOT dashboard that the state gets its energy from wind, solar, natural gas, nuclear and coal. ERCOT leaders and energy experts say the state just needs more.

A state solution is going online. Texas voters last year approved the $10 billion Texas Energy Fund to provide grants and low-interest loans to help build “dispatchable” energy such as natural gas plants. The state Public Utilities Commission just finalized the program’s rules and will begin taking applications. The goal is to increase electricity supply when renewable energy is not as effective as at night, when the wind is not blowing.

Companies can get a refund of about 10% of their installations if they complete them by summer 2026.

The fund was a goal for Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who spoke earlier this year at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

“We’ve boosted wind power, we’ve boosted solar power, at the expense of natural gas. So when it’s cold on a winter’s night and a storm called Uri comes through, and the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine. ‘is, we didn’t have enough power and people died in that storm,” Patrick said, “I made a promise to myself and the senators that we stood together, we will never let this happen again.”

PUC members and ERCOT members in 2021 have been replaced, he noted.

“We still need more natural gas,” Patrick said.

Mark Bell of the Association of Electric Companies of Texas, which represents NRG, Oncor and other major energy companies, says the companies “are working diligently and trying to build the infrastructure needed to support this type of growth.”

Lone Star Politics asked Bell if the new Texas Energy Fund is enough to get the amount of power plants the state needs.

“Well, and it’s a tool in the toolbox,” Bell said, “its portal launched this week and there’s a great expectation that it will have oversubscriptions, which is wonderful.”

Bell says the biggest challenge will be over the next seven years, when large data centers and industrial projects that siphon energy are built faster than the new natural gas plants that generate the energy.

“It just takes a while to get these projects online. You know, we have data centers and other consumer, large-scale projects coming online that can be online in a year. And, you know, typically, it takes us , you know, from one to, well, it takes two to five to six years to get transmission and distribution, transmission, especially large projects going,” Bell said.

“Everyone is doing the best they can. And I think, in the long run, that will be enough,” he said.

Lone Star Politics asked Bell what the industry thinks of efforts to transition the company from fossil fuels to renewable energy. He wasn’t against it: they just need more power, period.

“We’re all of the above. I mean, we need it all,” Bell said.

Professor Ed Anderson of the University of Texas at Austin specializes in energy supply chains. He tells Lone Star Politics that Texas will be in a vulnerable situation for years to come when it comes to energy supply, but consumers can help.

“You know, we’re just getting to what the grid can handle,” Professor Anderson said, “Normally, the worst time of the year is the summer… in the summer, everyone gets equally hot and the Transmission lines can’t transmit the same power.

Anderson says new grid-connected electric cars and heavy industry in the Permian Basin adding more electric equipment are “a big deal.”

All of this change is happening at once and he says, “Honestly, you’re going to see other projections that are lower or much higher, like doubling. And so one of the things that ERCOT has to manage is they just have to be a little bit active on the conservative because he doesn’t know what will happen.”

Anderson says Texans should worry about the resiliency and stability of the grid as we approach the hot summer. Consumers, he says, can do basic things like turn off air conditioning and other electrical appliances when they’re not at home. According to him, purchasing programmable thermostats and modern air conditioners will help the grid and also save on daily energy bills.

“It’s mostly above our heads,” Anderson said, but “if we all work together” the Texans can help the grid stay stable.

An amazing update from ERCOT and solutions coming soon. NBC 5’s Phil Prazan and Gromer Jeffers with The Dallas Morning News talk to industry experts about Texas’ power grid.

Fuente

News

How Ether Spot ETF Approval Could Impact Crypto Prices: CNBC Crypto World

Published

7 months ago

3 July, 2024

AltcoinUpdates Staff

How Ether Spot ETF Approval Could Impact Crypto Prices: CNBC Crypto World

ShareShare article via FacebookShare article via TwitterShare article via LinkedInShare article via email

CNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and gives viewers a glimpse of what’s to come with high-profile interviews, explainers and unique stories from the ever-changing cryptocurrency industry. On today’s show, Ledn Chief Investment Officer John Glover weighs in on what’s driving cryptocurrency prices right now and how the potential approval of spot ether ETFs could impact markets.

Fuente

News

Miners’ ‘Capitulation’ Signals Bitcoin Price May Have Bottomed Out: CryptoQuant

Published

7 months ago

3 July, 2024

AltcoinUpdates Staff

Miners' 'Capitulation' Signals Bitcoin Price May Have Bottomed Out: CryptoQuant

According to CryptoQuant, blockchain data shows signs that the Bitcoin mining industry is “capitulating,” a likely precursor to Bitcoin hitting a local price bottom before reaching new highs.

CryptoQuant analyzed metrics for miners, who are responsible for securing the Bitcoin network in exchange for newly minted BTC. As outlined in the market intelligence platform’s Wednesday report, multiple signs of capitulation have emerged over the past month, during which Bitcoin’s price has fallen 13% from $68,791 to $59,603.

One such sign includes a significant drop in Bitcoin’s hash rate, the total computing power that backs Bitcoin. After hitting a record high of 623 exashashes per second (EH/s) on April 27, the hash rate has fallen 7.7% to 576 EH/s, its lowest level in four months.

“Historically, extreme hash rate drawdowns have been associated with price bottoms,” CryptoQuant wrote. In particular, the 7.7% drawdown is reminiscent of an equivalent hash rate drawdown in December 2022, when Bitcoin’s price bottomed at $16,000 before rallying over 300% over the next 15 months.

This latest hash rate drop follows Bitcoin’s fourth cyclical “halving” event in April, which cut the number of coins paid out to miners in half. According to CryptoQuant’s Miner Profit/Loss Sustainability Indicator, this has left miners “mostly extremely underpaid” since April 20, forcing many to shut down mining machines that have now become unprofitable.

CrypotoQuant said that miners faced a 63% drop in daily revenue after the halving, when both Bitcoin block rewards and transaction fee revenues were much higher.

During this time, Bitcoin miners were seen moving coins from their on-chain wallets at a faster rate than usual, indicating that they may be selling their BTC reserves“Daily miner outflows reached their highest volume since May 21,” the company wrote.

Among the sales of Bitcoin miners, whales and national governmentsBitcoin’s price drop in June also hurt Bitcoin’s “hash price,” a metric of Bitcoin Miner Profitability per unit of computing power.

“Average mining revenue per hash (hash price) continues to hover near all-time lows,” CryptoQuant wrote. “Hashprice stands at $0.049 per EH/s, just above the all-time low hashprice of $0.045 reached on May 1st.”

By Ryan-Ozawa.

Fuente

News

US Congressman French Hill Doubles Down on Trump’s Pro-Crypto Stance

Published

7 months ago

3 July, 2024

AltcoinUpdates Staff

US Congressman French Hill Doubles Down on Trump's Pro-Crypto Stance

US lawmaker French Hill has noted that Donald Trump will take a more pro-crypto approach than the current administration. The run-up to the presidential election has seen cryptocurrencies become an issue with lawmakers making huge statements ahead of the polls. Donald Trump has also been reaching out to the industry, making a pro-crypto case.

French Hill Backs Trump’s Pro-Crypto Stance

Republican Congressman French Hill has explained the type of cryptocurrency regulatory framework he believes Donald Trump could adopt in the country. In a recent interview with CNBC, French Hill said that the recently passed FIT21 bill is the type of regulatory framework the Trump administration will adopt in the sector.

#FIT21 passed the House with 71 Democratic votes, it’s exactly the kind of digital asset regulatory framework former President Trump would support if re-elected.

See more on @SquawkCNBC🔽 photo.twitter.com/ceTmU4LApU

— French Hill (@RepFrenchHill) July 3, 2024

THE FIT21 Bill It is intended to protect investors and consumers in the market by establishing clear rules and powers for the various regulators in the sector. According to Hill, Trump will adopt it because it directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on the specific regulatory framework needed in the market.

“… for people who are innovating and starting a crypto token, a related business, custody of those assets, how to ensure consumer protection, so I think that framework is the right approach and that’s what I’m going to recommend to the President to pass, which is that we have not passed it between now and the end of this Congress.”

He also called Trump an innovative and pro-growth president in financial matters.

Cryptocurrency is going mainstream

This election cycle saw the cryptocurrency industry taking a place in mainstream issues following broader adoption across demographics. From candidates moving toward enthusiasts to recent pro-Congress legislation, cryptocurrencies have become a rallying point for officials. The U.S. regulatory landscape has been criticized for stifling growth due to frequent SEC LawsuitsThis has led executives to push for pro-cryptocurrency laws and raise money for pro-industry candidates.

David Pokima

David is a financial news contributor with 4 years of experience in Blockchain and cryptocurrency. He is interested in learning about emerging technologies and has an eye for breaking news. Keeping up to date with trends, David has written in several niches including regulation, partnerships, cryptocurrency, stocks, NFTs, etc. Away from the financial markets, David enjoys cycling and horseback riding.

Fuente

News

US Court Orders Sam Ikkurty to Pay $84 Million for Cryptocurrency Ponzi Scheme

Published

7 months ago

3 July, 2024

AltcoinUpdates Staff

U.S. Court orders Sam Ikkurty to pay $84M for crypto Ponzi scheme

A federal court has ordered Jafia LLC and its owner, Sam Ikkurty, to pay nearly $84 million to cryptocurrency investors after ruling that the company was operating a Ponzi scheme.

The ruling, issued by Judge Mary Rowland in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, follows a lawsuit filed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in 2022 after the fund collapsed.

Judge Rowland found that Ikkurty, based in Portland, Oregon, did numerous false claims on his company’s hedge funds.

These included misleading statements about his trading experience and the promise of high and stable profits. Instead, Ikkurty used funds from new investors to pay off previous investors, a hallmark of a Ponzi scheme.

The Ponzi Scheme

The court found that Ikkurty misappropriated investment funds for personal use without the knowledge of the investors. These funds were used for personal use and were reported as Fraudulent Investmentscausing significant financial losses to customers.

This non-transparent operation violated Transparency Commission regulations, which led to the imposition of a hefty fine to compensate defrauded investors and restore some public confidence in the financial system.

Judge Rowland emphasized that fraudulent activity such as this violates the law and undermines the integrity of modern financial markets. The $84 million award seeks to address the financial harm inflicted on investors and reinforce the importance of legal compliance in cryptocurrency trading.

Fuente