that the bitcoin network has an annual electricity consumption of 145 Terawatt hours .
"To put this into perspective, this level of energy consumption would place bitcoin among the top 30 energy-consuming nations globally," saida press release in September 2022 warning about the increased demand for cryptocurrency and its implications for US climate goals. "The United States is estimated to host about a third of global crypto-asset operations, which currently consume about 0.9 percent to 1.7 percent of total US electricity usage," the statement says."This range of electricity usage is similar to all home computers or residential lighting in the United States."
The White House said that"depending on the energy intensity of the technology and the sources of electricity used, the rapid growth of crypto-assets could potentially hinder broader efforts to achieve US climate commitments to reach net-zero carbon pollution.", a doctoral researcher at ETH Zurich's Climate Finance and Policy Group, said Riot's claim"is not correct as bitcoin miners are also relying on power sources from fossil fuels.
If the computers are powered by solar or wind, then the facility would"be considered carbon-free," said You of Cornell. However, if a power plant burning fossil fuels is generating the energy, then he said"we can't consider bitcoin mining free from any carbon emissions."of all leading bitcoin mining companies. Riot also claims its Rockdale center is the"largest bitcoin mining facility" in the US.the facility contributes 1.