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Crypto company slammed for pollution sues to keep mining bitcoin at NY power plant
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Aug 20, 2024
Modified Aug 22, 2024
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Lauren Petracca/Earthjustice
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Aug 20, 2024
Modified Aug 22, 2024
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The owners of a bitcoin mine in upstate New York have filed a lawsuit against the state seeking to block the imminent closure of the natural gas power plant fueling their 24/7 crypto operation.
Greenidge Generation argues in the lawsuit filed last week that the state Department of Environmental Conservation exceeded its authority by declining to renew the facility’s air permit because it could not comply with greenhouse gas limits that will be phased in through 2050 under New York state’s ambitious climate law. The agency ordered the plant to cease operations on Sept. 9. The complaint notes that the plant provides “a significant amount of electricity behind-the meter to a cryptocurrency mining operation.”
In 2023, the plant emitted nearly 800,000 pounds of carbon dioxide – the equivalent of nearly 84,000 cars on the road, according to Earth Justice, an environmental law group.
Much of those emissions powered thousands of computers mining for bitcoin. Greenidge has raked in $32.4 million for its bitcoin-mining operations in the first six months of this year. In July alone, the company mined 58 bitcoins, valued close to $3.5 million, according to company financial documents. A profitable bitcoin mining business requires computers to make trillions of calculations, consuming extraordinary amounts of electricity, the New York Times has reported.
Local residents and advocacy groups have been fighting for Greenidge's closure since 2018, when its air permit was up for renewal. The state ultimately concluded that the company was violating the Community Leadership and Climate Protection Act, or CLCPA. That law requires all industries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by the end of this decade. Greenidge argues in the suit that the state wrongly ignored its plan to meet emissions targets.
“DEC exceeded its jurisdiction while employing an improper and incomplete analysis that is inconsistent with the language and intent of the CLCPA,” the company wrote in an emailed statement.
The lawsuit comes amid growing concern that the state will miss deadlines set by the state climate law, including the goal of powering New York with 70% renewable energy sources by 2030. Gov.. Kathy Hochul has said the state may need to “rethink” the law and its costs. But local advocates don’t want to see the climate law weakened and said the plant can’t be shut down soon enough.
“This facility absolutely must be closed,” said Yvonne Taylor, co-founder of Seneca Lake Guardian.
This story has been corrected to fix the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the Greenidge Generation plant last year.
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Rosemary Misdary
Rosemary is health & science reporter. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 646-544-9524.
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