Texas Governor Invited BTC Miners To Stabilize The Electrical Grid

The Texas governor Greg Abbott invited BTC miners to stabilize the electrical grid in the county but many think that his embrace of the industry could be a risky choice with future voters so let’s find out more in today’s latest Bitcoin news.

The Texas Governor thinks that Bitcoin mining could incentivize power production which will stabilize the Texas grid. Other jurisdictions outlawed BTC miners for placing added stress on their grids. Abbott made a concentrated effort to bring the crypto industry to his state and besides seeing it as lucrative, he thinks the growth of BTC miners will help stabilize the Texas electricity grid that struggled to keep up with the demand.

Bitcoin mining has often been criticized for being energy-intensive and many argued that it isn’t worth the environmental cost. However, a huge number of Texas politicians like Ted Cruz and Steve Adler, see for a solution in other energy-related issues. This includes Abbott who hopes that by drawing BTC mining to state and power providers will step up to build more infrastructure that will benefit everyone. The voters in the state disapproved of the handling of the Texas electrical grid that has been often unable to provide enough power during peak times. Last winter, power outages were massive during a harsh storm whcih contributed to a few hundred deaths in the state.

Abbott’s bet for the grid is one that Bitcoiniers promoted for years now and on one hand, the industry creates financial incentives to produce more energy. On the other hand, it involves bringing greater demand and stress on the already worn-out grid. The governor is depending on BTC miners to halt operations when ordered to do so when the energy demand surges. This approach will mimic the decision of Iran which imposed a winter-long ban on mining to prevent power outages from plaguing the country. Skeptics argued that mining businesses can afford to stop and start production for an extended period of time but two miners in the state already agreed to obey the request to voluntarily pause the operations when energy gets scarce. According to Texas Blockchain Council President Lee Bratcher:

“It’s really a healthy dynamic that brings tax revenue, brings job creation, and also is a grid strengthening mechanism. Governor Abbott’s been very supportive.”

According to the Texas Blockchain Council, there are 27 mining operations in the state, and more are on teh way including Digital currency Group-backed Foundy. The growth of miners in the state has been enormous because of the other countries’ decision to ban the PoW process. China for example expelled its miners as a part of the larger crackdown on crypto and left many to flee to the US. Kosovo also outlawed mining due to the electricity grid straining.