PANews reported on December 24 that according to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), cryptocurrency mining and artificial intelligence (AI) related operations are pushing North American electricity demand to new highs, especially after data centers and facilities connect to the grid on a large scale. This growth poses challenges for electricity demand forecasting and grid reliability.
The report points out that the electricity usage of cryptocurrency mining often fluctuates with market prices, leading to sudden changes in grid load, while AI data centers significantly increase electricity consumption due to processing, cooling, and storage demands. The uncertainty of these industries' energy consumption characteristics and load behavior further exacerbates the pressure on the grid during peak times or operational failures.
Especially in areas concentrated in cryptocurrency mining and AI, such as Texas, grid operator ERCOT reports that load variations in these industries could trigger power outage risks similar to variable energy resources, and increase the complexity of grid management. NERC's long-term reliability assessment shows that Texas's summer peak electricity demand is expected to grow by 4.6% annually by 2029, far exceeding previous forecasts by four times.
