Senator Lummis questions government’s role in regulating energy use in crypto mining
Sen. Cynthia Ramis (R – Wyoming) at her March 7 Senate hearing on cryptocurrencies and the environment emphasized Energy efficiency standards must not be used to target specific energy use cases such as cryptocurrency mining.
The committee presented evidence from both sides about the impact of the cryptocurrency industry on the environment.
Witnesses discussed energy consumption, efficiency, and the potential for over-regulation in the industry. The hearing also touched on the negative impact cryptocurrency mining sites have on air, water and noise pollution.
According to Senator Speaker Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts), who introduced the bill last December, “In the United States, the carbon footprint from Bitcoin mining is equivalent to the annual emissions from 7.5 million gas-powered cars. To do. “
Crypto Asset Environment Transparency Act
The bill seeks to mandate disclosure of emissions by crypto miners and impose an obligation on the Environmental Protection Agency to evaluate the results of crypto mining.
of Crypto Asset Environment Transparency Act Miners who use more than 5 megawatts of electricity are required to disclose data on their emissions, but EPA is required to investigate the impact of such miners on greenhouse gas emissions.
At a March 7 hearing, Senator Cynthia Ramis, a Republican from Wyoming and a permanent member of the Financial Innovation Caucus, spoke to environmental think tank Penn & Co. about the underlying logic of the bill in its current form. I asked Rob Altenberg, director of the Future Center. .
Lummis asked whether it is Congress’ role to legislate how energy use is deployed. In her question, she pointed out the similarities between cryptocurrency mining on computers and electric cars.
“It has a long history,” Altenberg replied. “We have energy efficiency standards for appliances. For most air pollution, we have legal requirements to put in place the best available technology to reduce pollution before we put it into operation,” he said. Mr. Altenburg replied.
Senator Lumis hints at double standards in the EV market
Lumis also pointed out that it should not be the job of Congress to interfere with how electricity is used.
“EVs shouldn’t [sic.] And are you doing the same oversight that the bill requires?” Lumis asked.
Altenberg replied, “Every power source, whether it’s a light or a speaker system, uses electricity and creates a certain amount of work for that electricity.” The problem with cryptocurrencies of work is that the work we do doesn’t actually need to have cryptocurrencies or blockchain technology.”
Courtney Detlinger, vice president of the Nebraska Public Power District, said before the hearing that cryptocurrency mining also has net benefits for the environment, especially when it comes to diverting natural gas that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere. He testified that he believed that he could bring about
“I certainly don’t speak for the power sector as a whole, but we’ve seen real benefits within Nebraska,” Detlinger said at the hearing. “We didn’t see any of the shortcomings mentioned at today’s hearing. Most of them have just been managed locally by municipalities, counties, or the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.”
