Two Bitcoin mining companies are battling it out in a Texas town

There's no mention of the power source. The Rockdale coal power plant closed in 2018, so unless there's another, local plant, I don't belive they are using "waste" power that can't be sent elsewhere. They are here for the 200MW grid connection, not the supposed lack of transmission capacity.

There's not even a mention of why the miners moved out of China. This is very poor journalism, just some one-sided points from the mine operators.

> Mayor King says today’s arrangement between miners and ERCOT [The Electric Reliability Council of Texas] is pretty simple and mutually beneficial. Not only do miners make use of power otherwise going to waste, they also function as “interruptible load,” meaning they are able to turn off all of their machines with a few seconds’ notice when the grid is in a pinch and needs the extra power. Miners volunteer to do this because of financial incentives.

Certainly a new and fresh perspective on the whole "Bitcoin is using up all of our electricity" discussion that is currently happening.

> To put that in context, Gibson says that downtown Dallas uses just 200 megawatts. “So it’s like having downtown Manhattan, downtown Dallas, all in our backyard,” continued Gibson.

Bitcoiners often say “how much energy does the traditional banking sector use” when the environmental impacts of bitcoin mining are pointed out, so it really puts it in perspective that a single mining facility uses the same energy as the downtown of major financial capitals.

Aluminum plants shuts down in the U.S., Bitcoin mining take its place.

Most (21st Century) American story ever?

Is there any other coin worth mining besides BTC?