#power consumption

How I imagine AI farms powering up every time more AI slop in generated.

US Bitcoin Miners Use as Much Electricity as Everyone in Utah

Bitcoin miners in the US are consuming the same amount of electricity as the entire state of Utah, among others, according to a new analysis by the US Energy Information Administration. And that’s considered the low end of the range of use.

Electricity usage from mining operations represents 0.6% to 2.3% of all the country’s demand in 2023, according to the report released Thursday. It is the first time EIA has shared an estimate. The mining activity has generated mounting concerns from policymakers and electric grid planners about straining the grid during periods of peak demand, energy costs and energy-related carbon dioxide emissions.

“This estimate of U.S. electricity demand supporting cryptocurrency mining would equal annual demand ranging from more than three million to more than six million homes,” the report said.

While mining began in the US a decade ago, an influx of crypto mining companies have relocated from China after that country banned the industry in May 2021. Over the last three years, a flurry of large-scale miners have gone public in the US, setting up operations in some of the most energy-rich states such as Texas and New York.

If Gas Cars Are Banned, Can The Grid Handle Electric Cars?

Engineering Explained

You want to get mad at someone for wasting energy? Corporations use thousands- nay, quadrillions of watts to produce one component of an iPhone

Easy Ways to Save on Energy Costs [Infographic] | ecogreenlove #saveenergy #greenliving

When we think of things that pollute or harm the environment, what usually comes to mind are things like factories and cars. But did you know that your own home can be a cause for pollution?

The power that we use at home has to come from somewhere, and if you’re getting your power from a power plant, every unit of electricity you are using contributes to pollution and an increase in CO2 levels.

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The utilities’ larger challenge comes from the legitimate commercial operators, whose appetite for megawatts has upended a decades-old model of publicly owned power. The combined output of the basin’s five dams averages around 3,000 megawatts, or enough for the population of Los Angeles. Until fairly recently, perhaps 80 percent of this massive output was exported via contracts that were hugely advantageous for locals. Cryptocurrency mining has been changing all that, to a degree that is only now becoming clear. By the end of 2018, Carlson reckons the basin will have a total of 300 megawatts of mining capacity. But that is nothing compared to what some hope to see in the basin. Over the past 12 months or so, the three public utilities reportedly have received applications and inquiries for future power contracts that, were they all to be approved, could approach 2,000 megawatts—enough to consume two-thirds of the basin’s power output.

Just because miners want power doesn’t mean they get it. Some inquiries are withdrawn. And all three county public utilities have considerable discretion when it comes to granting power requests. But by law, they must consider any legitimate request for power, which has meant doing costly studies and holding hearings—sparking a prolonged, public debate over this new industry’s impact on the basin’s power economy. There are concerns about the huge costs of new substations, transmission wires and other infrastructure necessary to accommodate these massive loads. In Douglas County, where the bulk of the new mining projects are going in, a brand new 84-megawatt substation that should have been adequate for the next 30 to 50 years of normal population growth was fully subscribed in less than a year.

"GERMANY GENERATES A RECORD 85% OF ITS ELECTRICITY FROM RENEWABLES"

 On April 30, Germany broke a daily record for renewable energy by generating 85% of its power from renewable sources.  According to Patrick Graichen of the Agora Energiewende initiative, “most of Germany’s coal-fired power stations were not even operating on Sunday, April 30." He further insisted in his conversation with 'Renew Economy' that he expects days like April 30 to be 'completely normal' by 2030 due to Germany's firm commitment to clean energy.  Germany is often viewed as one of the biggest leaders in the energy revolution amongst large industrial nations. Germany has set the goal of banning combustion engines by 2030, and having carbon emissions at just 20 percent of 1990's levels by 2050.