Opponents say Greenidge Generation’s operation in Dresden adds greenhouse gas, supporters say fuels the new economy
By Rick Karlin Times Union
DRESDEN (NY) – Opponents of what is becoming the state’s best-known and most-controversial crypto-mining facility have enlisted a Columbia University research institute to help explain why New York environmental officials should not renew its current air emissions permit.
The school’s Sabin Center for Climate Change has released a study exploring the legalities of regulating crypto mining and concluded that the Department of Environmental Conservation has the authority to issue, renew or deny air emissions permits from crypto miners who have their own power generation and don’t buy energy from the grid.
Related environmental news stories:
Bitcoin Uses More Electricity Than Many Countries (NY Times)
Every Bitcoin transaction consumes over $100 in electricity (Fortune)
While the logic that a state agency can issue or deny permits may be self-evident, the study represents the latest dispute pitting environmentalists against crypto miners — in this case, the publicly traded Greenidge Generation, which operates a 106-megawatt natural gas plant on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region that powers its crypto-mining operation.
The study also said that Gov. Kathy Hochul could impose a moratorium on new crypto mines powered by Greenidge’s own power plants pending an environmental review — similar in some respects to how Hochul’s predecessor, Andrew M. Cuomo halted hydrofracking from starting in New York. Since then, study author Jacob Elkin notes, the state passed a 2019 law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, or CLCPA, calling for steep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in coming years.
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