Key facts:
- Professor Xie highlights the flexibility of the energy demand of Bitcoin mining.
- Le Xie says that Bitcoin mining can contribute to the reliability of the electrical grid.
Research from Texas A&M University finds that Bitcoin mining, as a flexible power load that can be turned off at times of high demand, can contribute to the reliability and stability of countries’ power grids.
The report, prepared by Dr. Le Xie, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University, establishes the specialist’s position regarding mining activity, which has a significant presence in that southern state of the United States.
According to Xie, when the power grid is under stress, power demand skyrockets. Such an increase could be offset by Bitcoin mining, as it “shows good potential to provide flexibilities during times when maximum power usage in other areas is vital.”
The university professor remembers that when there is high demand, the reliability of the electrical network decreases in the same way.
“However, Bitcoin mining, modeled as a flexible electrical load that can be turned off during demanding times, can be a positive contributor to network reliability,” Xie says.
What Professor Xie points out has to do with the consensual disconnection of Bitcoin miners in Texas during last year’s heat wave. At that time, mining activity was reduced by 18% globally, as the study maintains, due to the high electricity demand reported in Texas.
In this sense, for the university professor, “there seems to be a very strong negative correlation between mining demand and the total net demand in the entire electrical system.”
That is when the Texan power grid is stressed and under high demand, Bitcoin miners shut down. “This demonstrates a potential for demand flexibility,” insists the study from Texas A&M University.
The Texas Legislature advances an Anti-Bitcoin Mining Law
The remarks made by the Texas university professor come just when mining activity could suffer a setback by the state legislature.
As CriptoNoticias has reported, the Texas Senate approved a bill last April that limits incentives to the Bitcoin mining industry in that state.
Just two steps away from its entry into force in Texas, the legislative proposal establishes a tax increase on mining activities. This is a move that would affect many of the large companies in the Bitcoin mining industry that are established in that state.
However, on March 23, 2023, it became known that the Lower House of the Texas Legislature expressed its support for Bitcoin mining. That legislative body indicated in a resolution that these operators were welcome in the southern state and that they had “protection.”
