US Bitcoin Corp. expected to settle with City to resume Bitcoin mining in Niagara Falls
US Bitcoin Corp is expected to settle with the New York state city of Niagara Falls in a deal that will allow the mining company to resume its bitcoin mining operations in the city.
The 50 megawatt (MW) facility has been controversial due to noise complaints from local residents. In early March, state Supreme Court Justice Edward Pace ordered the USBTC to cease operations at the Buffalo Avenue site and pay a $1 million fine.
A spokesperson for the company confirmed that the site, which has a computing power capacity of 1.1 exahashes/second (EH/s), has since been shut down. Before the shutdown, USBTC said 0.4 EH/s of self-recovery was running at the site.
The agreement, which is expected to be adopted today by the city council, will limit noise pollution from the facility to 65 decibels. The accommodation will include a ‘noise-absorbing wall’ and an ‘independent monitor’ which will monitor noise levels. USBTC will also have to comply with new zoning laws, which apply to the development or purchase of renewable energy in line with their energy consumption; it will also pay $150,000 in compliance fees over the next 30 days.
The news was first reported by the local media Niagara Gazette. A company spokesperson confirmed the story to CoinDesk.
The Buffalo Avenue facility is the smallest of four operated by USBTC. It also gained access to three additional facilities during the Compute North bankruptcy proceedings; two of them manage it together with Generate Capital.
Asked whether the Niagara Falls issue could affect the merger, Erin Dermer, Senior VP of Communications and Culture at Hut 8, declined to comment.
When CoinDesk visited the city last year while the USBTC site was running, a hum could be heard nearby. However, residents CoinDesk spoke to were divided on whether that was a problem.
A health worker at a rehabilitation clinic less than a third of a mile from the site told CoinDesk that the noise wasn’t really a problem, except for one time when they held counseling sessions outdoors. Another resident in the immediate vicinity said it is a nuisance at times, but most of the time “it’s not that bad”.
But some who live further away have claimed that the plant causes them to lose sleep.
Beverley, about a quarter of a mile away, said she “hasn’t slept since it started” operations and that to her it feels like “living in an airport.” Bryan Maacks, who lives about half a mile away, said that for him, the particular vibration is a constant throbbing hum that he can’t get rid of in his own home, even with earplugs.
