The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) has begun drafting a new survey focused on the energy consumption of proof-of-work (PoW) crypto mining in the country. This initiative comes about four months after the DoE was sued in a Texas court for attempting to enforce an “emergency collection of data request.”
On Wednesday, the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the DoE’s statistics branch, hosted the first of several planned public discussions to design a more effective survey. Steve Harvey of the EIA led the session.
In late February, the Texas Blockchain Council and Bitcoin mining company Riot Platforms successfully sued the DoE over a multi-page survey that requested detailed information about Bitcoin miners’ energy usage and business practices. The court ordered the DoE to destroy any collected data and withdraw the survey. In response, the EIA committed to collaborating more closely with industry stakeholders in developing a new survey.
During the hour-long session, Harvey emphasized three primary considerations: identifying critical factors in PoW crypto mining energy use, determining the necessary data to collect, and assessing if existing information could replace the survey or lower costs.
The new survey, once finalized, will undergo a 60-day public comment period as mandated by the 1995 Paperwork Reduction Act, followed by an additional 30-day review period after incorporating public feedback. Harvey highlighted the need for accurate data, noting that preliminary estimates indicated crypto mining accounts for 0.6% to 2.3% of U.S. energy consumption. The dynamic nature of the industry, including the ability of mining operations to relocate to areas with cheaper electricity, presents significant challenges in tracking energy use.