Bitcoin
Bitcoin, AI and the Texas Network: Lawmakers Consider Action
Lizzie Jensen and Ryan Chandler
24 hours ago
(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
AUSTIN (Nexstar) – The Senate Business and Commerce Committee met Wednesday morning to assess the state of the electric grid, examine the impact of last year’s investments in power generation, and hear staggering statistics about the energy demands of consumers. Bitcoin and artificial intelligence sectors.
ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas told lawmakers that a graphics processing unit, a core technology for Artificial Intelligence (AI), consumes as much energy as the average home consumes in an entire year. He compared an AI company’s energy demand to connecting half a million homes to the grid in an instant.
Bitcoin mining facilities – filled with thousands of computers to generate the cryptocurrency – also require energy equivalent to hundreds of thousands of homes.
The information prompted an eye-opening warning to growing industries from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who alluded to possible regulations and limitations.
“We need to take a closer look at these two industries. They produce very few jobs compared to the incredible demands they place on our network,” he wrote on social media. “Texans will ultimately pay the price. I’m more interested in building the network to serve customers in their normal homes, apartments and businesses and keep costs as low as possible for them, rather than for niche industries that have massive energy demands and produce few jobs.”
Patrick tasked the committee with analyzing network requirements and future supply opportunities, as well as evaluating the implementation of laws passed last year to improve the network. Last session, lawmakers approved the “Texas Energy Fund” to encourage oil and gas producers to develop more capacity. In late May, the Public Utilities Commission reported that 125 projects applied for a loan, equivalent to nearly $40 billion, which would bring nearly 56,000 megawatts to the grid.
“This is a monumental advance. And I believe it’s the beginning of… new steel in the next three to four years,” said Business and Commerce President Charles Schwertner.
The committee also plans to study future electricity needs and focus on reducing barriers to new energy and infrastructure projects. Members will likely explore ways to streamline this process for future legislation and monitor the progress of ongoing projects and how they will affect electricity prices for consumers.
Interim charges are assignments assigned to House and Senate committees by the speaker of the House and the lieutenant governor when the legislature is not in session. These tasks involve studying specific questions and suggesting solutions for the next session. This period also allows advocates and stakeholders to influence policy decisions with the hope that they will be addressed in future sessions.