A group of seven Democratic lawmakers in Washington, D.C., led by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, are investigating the energy consumption and carbon emissions of the bitcoin mining industry in Texas, as well as the impact on the grid and local consumers. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) expressed concerns Wednesday to Pablo Vegas, the CEO of the ERCOT, that bitcoin mining’s enormous demand for energy in Texas is straining the state’s grid, negatively impacting consumers and US climate goals. ERCOT oversees the Texas electricity grid, which is separate from the rest of the country.
