HARRISON, Ark. — Plans for a cryptocurrency mine are causing a stir in Harrison.
This is not a traditional mine with picks and bulldozers, but a building full of computer servers that work around the clock to generate digital currency like Bitcoin.
The proposed site is a grassy area surrounded by houses, leaving neighbors on edge.
“It's a small town,” Brooke Lawrence said. She has lived in Harrison for the past 25 years. “We are on farmland where we have green grass, fresh air.”
What Lawrence also described as a quiet town, became a bit noisier.
“It's up to everyone who is protesting, everyone who stands up for Arkansas, the Natural State and Harrison, our hometown,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence and others are protesting the proposed cryptocurrency mine. The center was to be located on Old Bellefonte Road, just two miles from Lawrence's home.
“The simple truth is that we are building a data storage facility in an area where heavy industry has been done,” said Brian Warner, Project Manager.
Residents attended a public meeting Tuesday to ask their questions. But, things got off to a rocky start.
City Hall was packed, leaving about 50 people trapped outside. After some back and forth between the city and residents, the mayor decided to waive the capacity limits and let everyone in for the gathering.
Many people took the stage to share their views. One of Lawrence's concerns is the noise caused by the fans constantly working to cool the computers. In other communities, cryptocurrency mines have disturbed neighbors with constant loud noise caused by the fans needed to cool huge computer servers.
“At the top of that red dirt is a brick building that is the learning center where children go to school from zero to five years old,” Lawrence said. “My daughter could attend that school if she let her. But if this mine is here, I won't let my daughter go to school 1.2 miles away."
Warner said noise is not a concern after visiting a nearby similar facility in Newport. Electricity was another concern residents mentioned.
“I hear it's going to use a lot of electricity,” said resident Pam Minyard. "I just don't think this small town can handle that."
Warner responded to concerns about electricity, saying that the company planning to build the center has already allocated for additional electricity use.
City leaders were supposed to vote on a conditional use permit for the land at Tuesday's meeting. They postponed the vote to May.
