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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
Crucial selling point. If the mine “is ready to produce two Dentons’ worth of power, and we start to have grid instability issues, you turn off the data center,” Beck explained.“Interruptibility” isn’t new or unique to crypto. Austin semiconductor plants idled during the February 2021 winter storm, and ERCOT works with other large facilities during emergency events to reduce their demands. But miners believe they stand alone in being able to power down within seconds without harming their operations.While ERCOT did not comment for this story, ERCOT chief Brad Jones has endorsed crypto as a grid partner and said he’s personally “pro bitcoin.”Project documents claim that Core Scientific’s data center will shut down “during high price periods or scarcity of generation events or higher than forecasted load.” In practice, Core Scientific will base its daily operations — when to run, and at what capacity — on variable ERCOT market rates. If it feels that prices are too high to mine, it can choose to power down.According to Puente, Core Scientific has also entered a confidential agreement with ERCOT to curtail its energy use during peak demand. For example, during another extreme weather event, ERCOT may require the mine to stop running and, in return, will pay Core Scientific for the energy it frees up on the grid at a profit to the crypto company. In other words, Core Scientific is either saving money or making money if it powers down. Should it refuse to do so, “we will automatically open up their breaker to shut off power to them, if needed,” Puente said. “You’re not a battery, you don’t store energy.” Tenaska and ERCOT did not respond to numerous requests for comment about how this arrangement works. Core Scientific declined to comment on all aspects of its operations in Denton. So it’s unclear when, exactly, the mine can be mandated to power down, and whether ERCOT has legal recourse if Core Scientific does not comply. The city’s contract with Core Scientific states that DME “shall have the right, but not the obligation” to force compliance, and that DME is not liable for any penalties if Core Scientific fails to curtail its energy use. A portion of these terms is redacted.Skeptics have also warned that the unpredictable price of cryptocurrency could be a more compelling factor than market force and community needs. In Chelan County, Washington, one of the first US
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