Electric Vehicles and Crypto Mining Considered Emerging Risks to US Power Reliability

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NEW YORK, Dec 15 (Reuters) – The adoption of electric vehicles and the rise of cryptocurrency mining pose new challenges to the reliability of power supply in the United States in the coming years, a the North American Electric Reliability Corporation said Thursday.

More electric vehicles, spurred by government policies such as the US Cut Inflation Act, and energy-intensive bitcoin mining will increase demand on the country’s fragile power grid, while power plant shutdowns will exceed the replacement of new capacity and that extreme weather conditions will intensify, NERC said in its assessment of long-term reliability.

“These new electrical uses can significantly change the nature of how the system is going to operate and what it needs to be able to deliver,” said Mark Olson, NERC reliability assessments manager, who is responsible for the reliability of American power grids. , said during a webcast.

Citing estimates from the California Energy Commission, NERC said electric charging of plug-in electric vehicles by 2030 could result in an increase of 5,500 megawatts in midnight demand and 4,600 megawatts in 10 a.m. demand. morning on a typical weekday, a jump of 25% and 20%, respectively, from current levels.

The potential growth of cryptocurrency miners, who use supercomputers to power their operations, may also “have a significant effect on demand and resource projections,” NERC said. Earlier this month, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas announced a voluntary discount program for customers, including bitcoin mining facilities, to reduce electricity during peak periods.

Non-EV energy transition measures, which rely heavily on the electrification of businesses and homes, will also add pressures to the grid, NERC said. The increase comes as the shutdown of coal, nuclear and natural gas power plants outpaces the replacement of new power generation capacity.

More than 88 gigawatts of fossil fuel and nuclear generating capacity are expected to be retired through 2027, and another 22 gigawatts could be curtailed, NERC said.

Displacing power sources from traditional energy without the rapid replacement of generation, including power from renewables like wind and solar, has left large swathes of the country vulnerable to blackouts, said the NERC.

The Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s electricity reserve shortfall has increased by a year since NERC’s last report, and the Midwest now faces a 1,300 megawatt capacity shortage for the summer, NERC said.

California and the Midwest are at high risk of power shortages from 2023 to 2027, NERC said, while the Southwest, Northwest, Texas and New England have enough power and electricity. capacity for normal times, but face shortages under difficult conditions.

Reporting by Laila Kearney in New York Editing by Matthew Lewis

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