When the Alcoa smelting plant in Rockdale, Texas, closed in 2017, it eliminated hundreds of jobs and left many locals without work. Since then, Riot, one of the leading bitcoin miners in the U.S., has filled the vacuum left by Alcoa.
“We are the largest employer in the county and we’re providing really great jobs for hundreds of people,” said Brian Morgenstern, head of Riot’s public policy. “We are working with the Texas State Technical College on a professional certification program to upskill the workforce there and provide an on-ramp to get jobs.”
The energy grid, which is not subject to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulation, is one of the state’s positive attributes, according to Morgenstern.
“When there is a lot of wind and a lot of sun, the grid can use that energy,” he said. “We’ll buy that energy when there otherwise might not be a consumer of it so we’re providing a market for renewables. We are diversifying the grid in a really positive way and in an environmentally friendly way.”
Morgenstern was among the panelists at the 2023 D.C. Blockchain Summit in Washington, D.C., last week discussing “Bitcoin Mining: Revitalizing a District” along with U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas).
The D.C. Blockchain Summit is an annual event organized by the Digital Chamber of Commerce.
“Bitcoin mining offers an opportunity for rural development, energy development, job creation, and things like that,” said Tom Mapes, director of the Chamber of Digital Commerce’s energy policy, who served as the panel moderator.
During the discussion, Sessions announced House Resolution 238, a proof-of-work mining resolution as a way for the nation to achieve its energy goals.
“I represent Rockdale, Texas,” Sessions said in a video statement broadcast at the Summit. “Riot is the largest bitcoin operator in North America, making sure that the consistency of bitcoin is there and available as not just an investment opportunity, but a way to look at the future for millions of Americans who are counting on this new technology and time to help us across the globe for America to be the leader.”
The Digital Chamber of Commerce worked with Sessions on the resolution, which portrays mining in a positive light.
“We need to dispel this notion that the energy we use is somehow bad,” Morgenstern added. “Energy use has been driving human civilization forward for hundreds and thousands of years. We need to drive it forward in terms of keeping the value of bitcoin here in America.
“They say we use too much energy,” he added. “What’s the alternative? It’s that this industry moves out of the cleanest grid to dirtier grids in adversarial jurisdictions like Russia.”
