Due to the huge demand for bitcoins, the company Greenidge Generation converted an old coal-fired power plant, located on the shores of Lake Seneca, into a gas-fired power plant. The process of modernizing the power plant started in 2017. According to the Associated Press, electricity production began in 2020.
–
As indicated by the portal, the plant produces 44 megawatts of power, most of which is used to power bitcoin-mining computers. The surplus energy is sold to the grid.
–
See also: Bitcoin and energy consumption. A disturbing discovery by scientists
—
Environmentalists sound the alarm
The huge demand for electricity among “bitcoin miners” has alarmed American environmentalists. They asked the New York State government not to renew greenhouse gas emissions permits to Greenidge Generation.
–
“The current state of our climate requires taking action in the field of mining cryptocurrencies” – said AP Liz Moran from the Earthjustice organization. She added that this type of activity is a threat to the US ability to achieve climate goals.
–
—
Not the first time like this
As the Yale portal adds, the situation in New York is not the only one. Journalists report that a similar practice is used by, among others, Stronghold Digital Mining from Pennsylvania. It uses the entire energy of burning coal to mine bitcoins.
–
El Salvador, which plans to build a bitcoin city – Bitcoin Cityuses renewable energy from geothermal energy to mine cryptocurrency. Daniel Álvarez, chairman of the Rio Lempa Hydroelectric Executive Committee, told AP that the mining project would continue to develop “because El Salvado has renewable energy resources and has a high potential for further extractive energy production.”
–
