The state of New York denies air permit for bitcoin mining on Seneca Lake

A controversial bitcoin mining operation on the largest of central New York’s Finger Lakes does not meet the requirements of state climate laws, the New York Department of the Environment ruled Thursday, rejecting an air permit request from unit owner Greenidge Generation LLC in March. 2021

Renewing the air permit for the Greenidge facility on Seneca Lake “would be inconsistent with or would interfere with the achievement of state-wide greenhouse gas emission limits,” the Department of Environmental Conservation, or DEC, said in its ruling. It added that the company, which burns natural gas at its plant, has “failed to demonstrate that continued operation of the plant is justified despite this inconsistency, as it has not provided any electrical system reliability or other ongoing needs for the plant.”

Greenhouse gas emissions from the plant have increased “dramatically” since a previous permit was granted to Greenidge in 2016 and following the adoption of New York’s Climate Management and Civil Protection Act in 2019, the DEC said.

Local residents and environmental organizations praised the decision. Greenidge said it would continue to operate the facility under its current permit while challenging the DEC decision.

“We believe there is no credible legal basis whatsoever to reject this application because there is no real threat to the state’s Climate Management and Civil Protection Act from our renewed permit,” the company said in a statement on its website. “This is a standard renewal of air permits that controls emission levels for a plant operating in full compliance with the existing permit today.”

The company added that “the plant represents a remarkably insignificant 0.2% of New York’s greenhouse gas emissions. [greenhouse gas] the emission level for 2030 “and that the emissions have been reduced by 70% compared to the reference date 1990 according to the law.

Greenidge took over a power plant with a mothball on the shores of Lake Seneca in 2014 and asked for permission to operate it as a so-called peak plant, which supplies electricity to the grid in times of heavy use. While the operation initially delivered most of the power to the web, DEC found that its main purpose has been bitcoin mining, a process in which large computers work to verify transactions in the currency that take place on the Internet and earn rewards from bitcoin when they do. The math required to verify transactions and earn bitcoins is becoming more complex over time, requiring more and more computing power.

The annual electricity consumption of Bitcoin miners around the world is so incredible that it roughly equates to the consumption of Pakistan, according to the University of Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index.

Concerns about electricity use have made bitcoin mining a target for climate change, and Greenidge has sparked significant controversy among residents and business owners in the region. The DEC said it reviewed around 4,000 public comments on the application from individuals or organizations.

When Greenidge applied for his first permit, the DEC noted, it did not indicate “that it intended the plant to primarily serve increasing energy load from on-site cryptocurrency mining, rather than providing energy primarily to the electricity grid.”

Shares in Greenidge Generation fell 7% on that decision on Thursday, to around $ 2.50. As the price of bitcoin has fallen in recent months, Greenidge’s shares have also fallen from around $ 43 in September. Bitcoin itself has lost over 70 percent of its value from its peak in November.

Yvonne Taylor, vice president of the Seneca Lake Guardian, an environmental group that has been fighting the Greenidge facility for more than five years, praised the DEC’s decision.

“We are so proud to be part of a community that stands together to protect our clean air and clean water and thriving agricultural and tourism industries in the Finger Lakes,” Taylor said. “We have received phone calls and text messages and emails from members of the Finger Lakes region, all very excited that the decision has been made.”