North Tonawanda Residents and Advocates Send Message to NYS: Comply with Climate Law in Dirty Crypto Deal

NORTH TONAWANDA, NY (07/22/2025) (readMedia)-- At a virtual press conference this morning, North Tonawanda residents and environmental advocates called on the Public Service Commission (PSC) to stop putting cryptomining profits ahead of local communities and New York's climate goals. Speakers urged the Public Service Commission (PSC) to protect vulnerable communities and conduct a full climate review of the proposed sale of the Fortistar fracked gas plant to cryptocurrency company Digihost (now operating as Digi Power X) under New York's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). They also encouraged New Yorkers to make their voices heard during the PSC's public comment period before the July 28 deadline.

WATCH A RECORDING OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE HERE.

In 2022, the PSC approved cryptominer Digihost's purchase of the occasionally used 55-megawatt Fortistar North Tonawanda gas plant without fully assessing the climate impacts under the CLCPA from the planned increase in operations. Since Digihost began its 24/7 cryptomining powered by its climate-killing gas plant, greenhouse gas emissions at the facility have surged over 3,500%. The plant now releases up to 312,000 tons of greenhouse gas annually-equivalent to the energy use of 165,000 homes-and directly undermines the CLCPA. North Tonawanda residents have also been subjected to local air, water, and extreme noise pollution.

The Clean Air Coalition of Western New York and Sierra Club, represented by Earthjustice, filed a lawsuit with the New York State Supreme Court of Albany County challenging the Fortistar purchase to ensure the PSC follows its legal obligations. The judge ruled in November that the PSC must conduct a proper CLCPA analysis and mitigate the emissions consequences of the purchase. New Yorkers now have an opportunity to weigh in on the impacts of the fossil-fueled cryptomine through July 28 as part of the PSC's reassessment.

"The CLCPA is crystal clear: state agencies, including the Public Service Commission, must consider the climate impacts of their decisions," said Mandy DeRoche, Deputy Managing Attorney in the Clean Energy Program at Earthjustice. "But the PSC failed to do that, and North Tonawanda residents and our climate are paying the price. The Supreme Court gave the PSC a second chance to get it right. Now it, and all other state agencies, must follow the law and stand up for New Yorkers, not corporate polluters."

"Our city has worked hard to identify ways to reduce GHG emissions, and Digihost has more than wiped out all our progress with their 24/7 use of a methane gas energy source at what was once a peaker plant providing public benefit and grid stability. The plant now releases up to 312,000 tons of greenhouse gas annually, equivalent to the energy use of 165,000 homes, all for private benefit," said Deb Gondek, North Tonawanda resident and member of the Climate Smart Communities Task Force. "These extremely high GHG emissions fly in the face of the New York State Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. The Supreme Court gave the PSC a second chance to do the right thing, especially now that the negative environmental and health impacts are understood. I encourage New Yorkers to submit public comments before July 28, and urge the PSC to put our communities first."

"The Public Service Commission has been given a second chance to do the right thing and deny this sale," said Bridge Rauch, Environmental Justice Organizer at the Clean Air Coalition of Western New York. "Climate change is a very real and current threat to all of us, and environmental justice communities across the state have borne the burden of corporate pollution for decades. We need to forge a new path forward to build an equitable economy for all, and selling an obsolete fossil fuel-based power station to a proof-of-work based cryptocurrency mining data center operator is an absurd detour."

As North Tonawanda residents continue their fight against the fossil-fueled cryptomining company, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is evaluating statewide environmental impacts of cryptomining in a draft Environmental Impact Statement currently open for public input. Digihost will also soon be in court again over its incessant noise pollution.