The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is taking steps to regulate and penalize large-scale commercial cryptocurrency mining operations due to their excessive power consumption. The EIA has found that cryptocurrency mining in the United States accounts for 0.6% to 2.3% of the nation’s electricity consumption, with Bitcoin mining alone consuming as much power as Utah or West Virginia. The EIA aims to gather data on energy demand and sources used in mining and intends to address the environmental challenges posed by this industry. The growing power demands of Bitcoin mining are a result of the algorithm becoming more difficult, leading to higher costs.
https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/cryptomining/just-137-crypto-miners-use-23-of-total-us-power-government-now-requiring-commercial-miners-to-report-energy-consumption