Bitcoin mining isn’t just an energy drain — it could actually help prevent blackouts, says Bitdeer’s Jeff LaBerge.Bitcoin mining is often criticized for its high energy consumption, but Jeff LaBerge, Head of Capital Markets and Strategic Initiatives at Bitdeer, argues that the industry plays a crucial role in stabilizing power grids.Speaking on Roundtable, LaBerge addressed the misconception that Bitcoin mining is wasteful, noting its ability to act as an “interruptible load” for electricity grids.“It is a very power-intensive industry. I think we use somewhere around 20 gigawatts,” LaBerge admitted. “But in the greater scheme of things, that’s much lower than many other industries that use significantly more.”
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75 sats \ 1 reply \ @Cje95 18 Feb
Another thing Texas did right I must add. That was a stroke of genius by Gov. Abbott to increase the baseload power considerably while also signing agreements with miners to turn off when we needed the power.
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32 sats \ 0 replies \ @SimpleStacker 18 Feb
Texas from my view has much better policies than California. Even their favoring of property taxes over income taxes makes a lot of sense to me
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54 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 18 Feb
California's biggest problem is that they basically have gov run power utilities with how they regulate them. Price controls, complete oversight... and yet when there are issues the politicians and bureaucrats get zero blame. The government is so stupid that they have been trying to decommission Diablo Canyon Power Plant for years, their largest power plant which just happens to be nuclear. Most of the plants are natural gas and produce significantly less power. The state has focused on so called renewables which produce a minuscule amount compared to the two nuclear plants in the state.
As a consequence of these poor management decisions the power companies must import power from other states and pass that increased price along to consumers. Mind you, I mentioned price controls. This is one reason why PG&E for so long did a poor job of maintaining their infrastructure. They were forced to keep prices below market rates. Since the massive fires of a few years ago the commission allowed them to raise their rates over the next ten years and the prices are insane.
I think people have started to realize that they can't decommission the nuclear plant. Last I heard it was delayed again due to the dependence on its power. The whole thing is so absurd and an example of the failure of central planning.
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