ICYMI: TIME Magazine Details National Implications of NY Cryptomining

DRESDEN, NY (04/08/2022) (readMedia)-- Yesterday, TIME published a new article outlining the threat the Greenidge Generation Bitcoin mining plant poses to the Finger Lakes region, and the national wine industry. Located on the shores of Seneca Lake, Greenidge is a once-mothballed power plant that has been converted into a bitcoin mine by the private equity firm that owns it.

Read the story here.

"For people like Rainey, who spends a lot of time thinking about dirt and weather, the company in question, Greenidge Generation Holdings, represents an outside force that hogs energy and water resources to mine cryptocurrency. For one thing, it sucks in and spits out millions of gallons of water each day, as a consequence of its steam-powered turbines. Rainey says: "You come to the winery, you sit down, and I hand you a glass. It's tangible. It's very there. The Bitcoin thing-it's millions of gallons of warm water being dumped back into the lake every day and we all go, 'For what, again?'"

"For Yvonne Taylor, vice-president of Seneca Lake Guardian, an organization opposing Greenidge, it's not just about the broader climate impact-local impacts are front and center, too. "They're going to be emitting over a million tons of CO2 equivalents into the atmosphere every year, in addition to harmful particulate matter," she says. In farm country, she says, that's a huge problem for delicate crops like grapes."

Featuring interviews with Finger Lakes residents Yvonne Taylor (Vice President of Seneca Lake Guardian) and Rick Rainey (Managing Partner at Forge Cellars, a Finger Lakes winery), the article also gives national and global context to the fast-growing issue of proof-of-work cryptomining.

"Concerns are coalescing not just in New York but in Kentucky, West Virginia, Oregon, Texas, and more-questioning how much local economies are really benefiting from crypto mining, especially given the energy and environmental impact tradeoffs. Oregon's Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, Senate Finance Committee chair, is probing crypto-mining companies to show they're having the promised positive impact on distressed communities. And on March 29, a coalition of heavy-hitting environmental activists launched a new campaign, Change the Code, Not the Climate, demanding that Bitcoin reduce its environmental footprint."

Background

Located on the shores of Seneca Lake, Greenidge is a once-mothballed power plant that has been converted into a bitcoin mine by the private equity firm that owns it. The plant has brought only 48 new jobs to the region compared to the existing $3 billion agritourism economy, employing approximately 60,000 people, while poisoning the Finger Lakes' natural resources. Greenidge operates over 17,000 Bitcoin mining machines and is expanding to over 32,500, pumping dirty fossil fuels into the air 24/7. This will lead to over one million tons of CO2 emissions each year, equal to that of 100,000 homes. Greenidge also sucks 139 million gallons of water each day from Seneca Lake and dumps it back in at 108 degrees, risking toxic algal blooms that make this water source for 100,000 people non-usable.

The DEC's decision on Greenidge's air permit renewal was expected by March 31, but it was pushed back for the second time, allowing Greenidge to continue harming the community and expanding its operations. The new deadline is two days after the gubernatorial primary.

Greenidge is part of a fast-growing, dangerous trend. New York now hosts 20% of the U.S.'s Bitcoin mining to the detriment of small businesses, local economies, the environment, and the climate. After China banned cryptomining, citing the environmental threats the practice poses to meeting emissions reduction goals, outside speculators have flocked to upstate New York to take advantage of the nonexistent environmental regulations. In addition to calling for a denial of Greenidge's air permits, advocates are calling on Governor Hochul to impose a moratorium on proof-of-work cryptomining.

The Governor is well within her legal authority to act, according to a new white paper released by the Columbia Law School Sabin Center for Climate Change Law: A Pause on Proof-Of-Work: The New York State Executive Branch's Authority to Enact a Moratorium on the Permitting of Consolidated Proof of Work Cryptocurrency Mining Facilities. The paper (summary of findings available here) finds that the DEC can treat Greenidge's application not as a renewal but as a new request given its expanded activity as a Bitcoin mine. A new application would necessitate a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) to determine the full extent of mining on the community, and require a pause on all activities until complete.

Proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining (which Bitcoin uses) is an extremely energy-intensive process that requires thousands of machines whirring 24/7 to solve complex equations. The more machines that are running, the faster a coin is mined. Each one of these machines requires energy to run, plus more energy to run cooling technology. Globally, proof-of-work Bitcoin mining uses the same amount of energy each year as the entire country of Argentina. It produces 30,700 metric tons of e-waste each year, comparable to the yearly IT equipment waste of the Netherlands. If left unregulated, the industry will wreak irrevocable harm on the entire state of New York, making it impossible to reach New York's crucial climate goals as outlined in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). The CLCPA commits to an 85% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050 and 100% zero-emission electricity by 2040.

These facilities are also major emitters of methane and toxic air pollutants including benzene, formaldehyde and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are precursors of ground level ozone pollution and known causes of asthma, heart attacks, strokes, reproductive damage and preterm birth.

Powering Bitcoin mining with renewables is not a viable solution, as renewables supply cannot possibly meet the extreme energy demands of Bitcoin mining in addition to daily necessities such as heating and cooling homes and running cars. Any renewable energy that supports Bitcoin mining is renewable energy that is being diverted from the public grid. And when crypto miners rely on the public grid, they stick everyday New Yorkers with the bill. A 2021 study estimates "the power demands of cryptocurrency mining operations in upstate New York push up annual electric bills by about $165 million for small businesses and $79 million for individuals.

Cryptomining is also at odds with the overwhelmingly popular amendment to the state constitution passed last year, which guarantees every New Yorker the right to clean air, clean water, and a healthful environment. Revitalizing old polluting power plants for private financial gain, with drastic consequences for our air, water and climate, all while causing huge amounts of noise pollution, is now unconstitutional - and ought to be treated as such.

Reform groups Common Cause/NY and NYPIRG have specifically criticized the crypto mining industry for exploiting public resources and straining the energy grid for private gain, and a group of federal lawmakers led by Senator Elizabeth Warren recently requested details from six major Bitcoin mining companies about their electricity usage and contributions to climate change. Earlier this month, President Biden issued an executive order requiring federal agencies study the legal, economic, and environmental impacts of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin mining. Even the Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, an avid crypto booster has come out against mining, declaring at a February 9th joint session of the Legislature: "I support cryptocurrency, not crypto mining."

More than 1,000 organizations, businesses, environmental activists, concerned residents, wine makers, elected officials, and more have taken action over the last year in opposition to crypto mining in New York State. A letter sent to Governor Hochul in October was signed by more than 650 individuals and groups. In letters to Governor Cuomo last year opposing Greenidge Generation's expansion from an emergency peaker plant to a 24/7 Bitcoin mining operation, organizations, businesses, and Finger Lakes residents demanded Gov. Cuomo revoke Greenidge's permits due to its massive greenhouse gas emissions, poisoning of the Finger Lakes, and noise pollution, with no economic benefit to the community. Greenidge Generation is still operating in Dresden, NY under grandfathered-in permits granted for use as a peaker plant, not 24/7 Bitcoin mining. Greenidge has applied for an air permit renewal and is awaiting a decision from the Department of Environmental Conservation. Similar fights have occurred in Plattsburgh and Niagara Falls, which resulted in local moratoriums.

Legislation (A7389B/S6486C) to place a 3 year moratorium on Bitcoin mining in New York State is picking up steam in the Assembly with 41 co-sponsors including 15 senior-ranking Assembly committee chairs as of February 24.

About Seneca Lake Guardian

Seneca Lake Guardian is a New York State Not-for-Profit Corporation with 501(c)(3) and is dedicated to preserving and protecting the health of the Finger Lakes, its residents and visitors, its rural community character, and its agricultural and tourist related businesses through public education, citizen participation, engagement with decision makers, and networking with like-minded organizations.