American President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency in the country due to a lack of power generating capacity, which could negatively affect the activities of local miners.
According to the president’s statement posted on the White House website, power is critical, and even isolated power outages “could be catastrophic to the economy and national security.” The problems are caused by extreme weather events, which are increasingly due to climate change. For example, in some regions of the country, due to drought, there is a severe shortage of electricity, and demand is constantly growing. Utilities and grid operators should start planning ahead for new capacity to provide the required amount of energy, the president said.
Biden noted that solar energy is becoming a popular source of energy, as it reduces dependence on electricity produced by burning fossil fuels. Solar panels and batteries are expected to account for more than half of new capacity in 2022 and 2023. Recently, however, the United States has been unable to import the amount of solar panels needed to address climate problems.
Due to the acute shortage of solar modules, many projects for the transition to alternative energy sources are canceled or postponed to a later date. In this regard, the president declared a state of emergency in the country due to the lack of capacity to meet consumer demand. The US Department of Commerce has been instructed to consider importing solar panels and modules from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam duty-free. These measures will be in effect for 24 months or until the state of emergency ends in the country.
The situation does not bode well for cryptocurrency miners using the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus algorithm. Recently, there have been many complaints from environmental activists and citizens living near mining farms about noise, rising temperatures of nearby water sources, and an increase in e-waste. A few days ago, the Upper House of the New York State Parliament supported a two-year moratorium on the opening of new farms engaged in non-environmental mining. Against the backdrop of problems with electricity, the US authorities may also close existing mining farms.
