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A Finger Lakes power plant plans to ramp up energy-intensive Bitcoin mining

Posted by skybrian
Tags: pollution, energy, usa.ny, cryptocurrency, finger lakes, technology, fossil fuels, bitcoin, bitcoin mining, power stations.natural gas, author.peter mantius, source.nysfocus
https://www.nysfocus.com/2021/04/13/new-york-bitcoin-mining-threat/

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Title
A New Threat to New York's Clean Energy Goals: Bitcoin Mining - New York Focus
Authors
Peter Mantius, Akash V. Mehta, Lee Harris, Sam Mellins, Colin Kinniburgh, Pete Sikora, Julia Rock, Morley Musick, Ari Dubow, Geoff Dembicki, Samuel Stein, Jabari Brisport, Marcela Mitaynes, Gautama Mehta, Daniel Moritz-Rabson
Published
Apr 13 2021
Word count
1810 words

1 comment

  1. skybrian
    Link
    From the article:

    From the article:

    A decade ago, the bankrupt owner of the Greenidge power plant in Dresden, New York, sold the uncompetitive coal-fired relic for scrap and surrendered its operating permits.

    For the next seven years, the plant sat idle on the western shore of Seneca Lake, a monument to the apparent dead end reached by the state’s fossil fuel infrastructure.

    But today, Greenidge is back up and running as a Bitcoin mining operation. The facility hums with energy-hungry computers that confirm and record Bitcoin transactions, drawing power from the plant’s 106-megawatt generator now fueled by natural gas.

    The mining activity is exceptionally profitable, thanks to an 800 percent rise in Bitcoin’s price since last April. Seeking to ride the boom, the plant’s new owners plan to quadruple the power used to process Bitcoin transactions by late next year.

    Environmental advocates view Greenidge’s ambitions, if left unchecked, as an air emissions nightmare.

    And they fear that dozens of other retired or retiring fossil-fueled power plants across New York could follow Greenidge’s example, gaining new life by repurposing as Bitcoin miners or other types of energy-intense data centers.

    2 votes