Earlier this month, the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced its intention to gather basic information about the energy consumed by bitcoin mining. In making the decision, the DOE noted that the share of bitcoin mining happening in the US has shot up by a factor of over 10 just within the last three years, leaving the activity consuming as much electricity as a fairly populous state....
Albright's decision to issue the injunction is based largely on the fact that the DOE's decision to delay going forward with the survey was voluntary and could be rescinded at any time.
But he went beyond that by saying that the mining companies were likely to succeed on the merits of their case. In general terms, he noted that the DOE relied on its ability to enact emergency measures, and those are only applicable if there's a risk of public harm. The DOE will likely try to make the case that elevated carbon emissions and electricity costs both count as public harms, so Albright is suggesting that he's unlikely to find those compelling.
Ah, Climate Change. Is there anything it can't do? Except in west Texas, where the Judge doesn't buy the whole "Climate Emergency means more Government" thing.
1 comment:
Elon Musk made the point the other day that electric cars are competitive with AI for limited electric supplies. Add in bitcoin mining and you have another giant sucking sound. Musk's solution is more generation but that isn't going to happen.
Post a Comment