Texas is rapidly emerging as a hub for AI-driven power demand, with an unprecedented rise in heavy-load power demands, a wave now dominated by AI data centers rather than Bitcoin miners.
The numbers, highlighted in the latest Miner Mag newsletter and derived from ERCOT’s new system planning and weatherization update, point to a grid facing a very different kind of growth.
ERCOT, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the state’s independent power grid and oversees reliable electric service for about 90% of Texans, reported that its high-load interconnection queue has swelled to 226 gigawatts of new orders, nearly 73% tied to AI facilities.
Developers have already submitted 225 applications for large loads this year, and on the supply side, ERCOT is reviewing 1,999 power generation proposals totaling 432 gigawatts, according to The Miner Mag.
However, the load grows faster than the supply. Although the generation queue is huge, it is still dominated by solar and battery projects, resources that do not provide the power that AI data centers need around the clock. This mismatch creates challenges for reliability and future investment.
State regulators are racing to adapt, The Miner Mag reported. New rules are being developed to classify any customer requesting 75 megawatts or more as “special processing” status, and ERCOT has doubled the number of transmission projects under review.
Related to: Bitcoin miners bet on artificial intelligence last year, and it paid off
What about Bitcoin miners?
The Miner Mag report compared the current surge in AI-driven energy demand to the previous boom from Bitcoin (BTC) miners, noting that the emerging grid crisis in Texas is now being fueled by AI, not cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin miners were among the state’s largest new energy users. Its impact has arguably been positive: Mining companies have often scaled back operations during peak demand and, according to a January study by the Digital Asset Research Institute, helped boost network stability and saved the state an estimated $18 billion.
However, the landscape is changing. Many miners and digital asset operators are reallocating their infrastructure towards AI computing to take advantage of the growing demand for GPU capacity.
A recent example is Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy, which received $460 million to transform its former Bitcoin mining site in Texas into a large-scale, AI-driven data center.
