The issue of cryptocurrencies and their energy consumption is a subject that is hotly debated in the United States. Inflation is still rife, crypto price declines continue, and environmental concerns are mounting. Faced with all this, Jared Huffman wonders why the federal energy agencies are slow to follow the recommendations of the White House on crypto mining.
Federal agencies carefully review White House recommendations
The reluctance of US federal agencies to give their response to the White House recommendations disturbs Jared Huffman. A member of the United States House of Representatives, the latter is concerned about the reluctance of some of these agencies regarding the report on crypto mining.
Indeed, Huffman believes that the silence of federal agencies means that the damage done by crypto mining is getting worse. A report from Bloomberg Law provides more details. According to the latter, US energy and environment officials have yet to say anything about the White House’s demands.
Of course, they still haven’t announced any plans to conduct energy consumption studies. Or, to pursue possible efficiency standards. Costa Samaras, the senior deputy director for energy in the Office of Science and Technology Policy, acknowledges that the agencies have yet to release a response.
According to him, each agency is reviewing the recommendations and will publish its commitments according to its own process and timetable.
Crypto mining should not be isolated from grid studies
The White House report implores agencies responsible for collecting energy information to consider collecting and analyzing information from miners. But also, those of public services while preserving confidentiality.
Thus, this data will allow decisions to be made based on the evidence of the energy and climate implication of cryptocurrencies. However, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the North American Electric Reliability Commission (NAERC) insist that they already have precautionary measures in place in the event of a grid shortage. As such, they do not plan to do a reliability assessment specifically for digital assets.
While Jared Huffman seems unimpressed with the justifications of the Allison Clements agencies, sees things differently. Indeed, the latter argues that crypto mining should not be isolated from grid studies.
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