Biggest Cryptominers in the U.S. Use as Much Power as Houston, Findings Show

The data was disclosed as part of an investigation by congressional Democrats who say miners should be required to report their energy use.

After China cracked down on the practice of virtual currency creation, the United States has seen an increase in the number of miners. Democrats led by Senator Elizabeth Warren are calling for the companies to report their emissions of carbon dioxide, the main driver of climate change.

In a letter to the heads of the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy, Sen. Warren and five other members of Congress said that the data shows that the amount of carbon emissions is growing quickly. The full scope of the activity is unknown.

According to the letter, research has shown that a surge in cryptomining is also raising energy costs for local residents and small businesses, and has added to the strain on the power grid.

Since they were introduced more than a decade ago, Cryptocurrencies have grown vastly and have raised concerns over the process of creating virtual coins. The guessing game is very energy intensive. Many countries use less electricity than the world.

A group of congressional Democrats launched an investigation earlier this year into energy use at the country's largest tHe group of congressional Democrats launched an investigation earlier this year into energy use at the country's largest t The group of congressional Democrats launched an investigation earlier this year into energy use The group's findings are based on the companies' responses to the questions they were asked.

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The seven companies alone had set up to tap as much as 1,045 megawatts of power, or enough electricity to power all the residences in a city the size of Houston, the nation's fourth- largest city with 2.3 million residents. According to the companies, they plan to expand their capacity at a rapid rate.

Marathon Digital told the probe that it operated almost 33,000 highly specialized, power- intensive computers, known as mining rigs, as of February, up from just over 2,000 at the beginning of the year. It expects to have 199,000 rigs by early next year, an almost hundredfold increase in two years.

Electricity is generated by burning coal, the dirtiest fuel, at the company's center in Montana. Marathon said in April that it would be moving those operations to new locations with more sustainable sources of power. It didn't give any further information.

Heavy demand for electricity is one of the reasons why cryptocurrencies are located near power sources.

Greenidge Generation said it planned to triple its mining capacity in multiple locations, including in South Carolina and Texas. New York refused to renew an air pollution permit for Greenidge's facility due to the fact that it was a threat to the state's goal of limiting emissions of greenhouse gases. While it challenges the state's decision, Greenidge can continue to operate under its current permit.

The total mining capacity of the seven largest companies is expected to increase by at least 2,399 megawatts in the coming years, an increase of nearly 230 percent from current levels, and enough energy to power 1.9 million homes.

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Some companies claim to use renewable energy. Riot Blockchain pointed to its coinmint mining facility in Massena, N.Y., which uses hydroelectricity almost exclusively, in the response it gave to the senators. Coal or natural gas is used for more than 60 percent of its generating capacity, according to the letter.

In a statement, the company's chief executive said that renewable energy in Texas was no longer available. The ability to shut down during high periods of demand relieved pressure on the grid.

Local electricity bills have been blamed for rising due to surging demand from the mining industry. A study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, found that the power demands of cryptominers in upstate New York had pushed up annual electric bills by about $170 million for small businesses and $82 million for individual households. An extra $71 a year was added to the average household's budget.

Expansion plans were not sure how a recent slump in prices would affect them. The picture of energy use beyond the seven companies was unclear.

In her letter, Sen. Warren said that the E.P.A. and D.O.E. should work together to establish rules for reporting energy use and emissions. The federal government could monitor energy use and trends in order to regulate an industry that is largely unregulated.

The White House is looking at ways to lower the energy consumption and emissions footprint of cryptocurrencies.

A mass exodus of miners took place last year after China cracked down on Cryptocurrencies. The United States is now the world's largest Bitcoin mining hub, making up about 37 percent of the global hashrate, according to data compiled by researchers.