美國能源資訊管理局 (EIA) 對用電量數據的強制性緊急調查是針對比特幣挖礦、加密貨幣和美國主導的創新的政治動機的最新舉措。 我們認為這應該引起所有依賴資料中心作為其營運一部分的行業的關注。
Lee Bratcher 是德州區塊鏈委員會的董事會成員兼主席。 Perianne Boring 是數位商會的創辦人兼執行長。
能源部和 EIA 沒有把重點放在改善老化的電力基礎設施和努力確保電網穩定上，而是優先考慮採取前所未有的措施，出於政治目的針對私營企業。 這項行動是濫用權力，以進一步實現拜登政府「限製或消除」美國比特幣礦商的公共目標，同時又對美國礦商對再生資源的利用和獨特靈活的運作一無所知。
另請參閱：美國政府似乎正在關閉比特幣挖礦| 觀點
該調查要求提供的資訊超出了環境影響評估的典型要求。 幾十年來，EIA 一直作為能源部 (DOE) 內的一個非政治資訊收集機構來運作。 如果這次調查與先前的調查一致，就沒有理由驚慌。
然而，這項調查專門針對比特幣礦工，並要求提供私人信息，例如與礦工簽署購電協議的能源公司的名稱。 擔心拜登政府向這些能源供應商施加壓力，要求他們停止與比特幣礦商的業務，這並不是一個邏輯上的飛躍。
由於比特幣礦工能夠根據電網狀況快速調整資料中心的用電量，因此他們的營運是全國最靈活、反應最靈敏的電力負載。 眾所周知，它們為所在社區提供了關鍵的電網穩定效益。
這些能力在德克薩斯州最近的寒冷天氣中得到了充分展示，EIA 大膽地引用了這一點來證明這一誤導性措施的合理性。 如果這種緊急行動的既定理由——擔心資料中心可能使電網超載——是可信的，那麼金融機構和社交媒體公司等其他行業現在也應該注意到這種令人不安的新策略。
In ERCOT, which operates Texas's electrical grid, and many other independent system operators (ISOs) across the country, prices are the best proxy for grid stress. There are other proxies such as physical responsive capability (PRC), but prices are a better measure for most situations. For that reason, in order to prevent swings in prices and create more challenging grid conditions, an optimal environment is one in which the price does not swing wildly up and down. But that is traditionally what happens (see the graph below from last year’s Winter Storm Elliot).
Bitcoin miners are the economically perfect consumers of electricity. That is not to say that bitcoin miners will consume electricity in an altruistic way, but rather that bitcoin miners are so sensitive to the price of power that they are economically incentivized to curtail their consumption when power prices rise past their breakeven (current breakeven for most miners ranges between $100 and $200 per megawatts/hour, with some exceptions for miners with hosting contracts that have uptime requirements).
See also: The Blocksize Wars Revisited: Why Bitcoin's 'Civil War' Still Matters
That means mining operations will run when prices are below their breakeven and turn off when prices are above it.
Bitcoin miners comprise one of the most transparent industries in the world, (e.g., EIA Website, Hashrate Index, Cambridge University, Texas A&M, ERCOT Data). Moreover, each data center’s development entails exhaustive investment, administrative, procurement and construction processes before they can begin operations. These facts belie the purported justification for this “emergency”mandate.
This is an attack against legitimate American businesses with the administration feigning an emergency to score political points. The White House has been clear that they desire to “to limit or eliminate” bitcoin miners from operating in the United States. Although the Bitcoin network is resilient against potential bans, the administration is seeking to make the lives of bitcoin miners, their employees and local communities too difficult to bear operating in the United States. This is deeply concerning.
It should be of concern to any industry in the United States that consumes energy. If an administration has political points to score by fabricating a crisis to justify removing access to the electricity, then an entire industry can be taken down on a whim.
We strongly believe EIA has overstepped its authority in issuing this emergency mandate. We urge the Biden administration to reconsider this course of action. Until that time, the industry will be pursuing all legal resources available to us.
