A group of local businesses has asked New York State Governor Kathy Hochul to deny permits to convert the city's former fossil fuel power plants into crypto mining hubs. The request comes in the form of lightr co-signed by a number of organizations, businesses and labor groups.
The letter calls for an environmental assessment for proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining in New York State while urging Governor Hochul to deny permits to convert the Greenidge Generating Station and Fortistar North Tonawanda Power Plants into facilities of cryptocurrency mining:
"Proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining uses enormous amounts of energy to power the computers needed to conduct business; if this activity expands in New York, it could drastically undermine New York's climate targets set under the Climate Leadership and Protection Act. Community ".
The proposal highlighted the inefficiencies of PoW authentication and suggests that the repowering of defunct fossil fuel power plants would be "seriously compromising the state's progress and compliance with mandates to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. ".
The companies also quoted New York State Commissioner Basil Seggos of the Department of Environmental Conservation as saying "Greenidge has not demonstrated compliance with New York's climate law."
NYS is taking action #Climate change. Today @NYSDEC Posted for public comment draft air permits for the former coal plant turned bitcoin mine, Greenidge LLC. DEC has not made a final determination on the permits and Greenidge has not demonstrated compliance with New York's climate law./1 pic.twitter.com/PKozYCUIeQ
- Basil Seggos (@BasilSeggos) September 8, 2021
Citing the need for a full environmental assessment related to greenhouse gas emissions, the letter requires the Hochul administration to deny Title V air permits for the two fossil fuel facilities.
Related: Russia Considers New Energy Tariffs As Chinese Crypto Miners Relocate
On the other side of the world, Russian authorities plan to introduce special electricity rates for recently displaced Chinese cryptocurrency miners.
On October 13, Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov suggested a new energy consumption framework to differentiate fees between general use and cryptocurrency mining, stating:
"We cannot allow miners to take advantage of the situation at the expense of low residential electricity rates."
According to research by the New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), Bitcoin (BTC) energy consumption will remain below 0.5% of the world total over the next decade. The study also suggests that Bitcoin's carbon footprint will depend on fluctuations in Bitcoin's price, mining difficulty, and energy consumption.
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