New York State Residents Demand Statement to Ban Mining at Power Plants – Bits Media

Local organizations appeal to New York State Governor Kathleen Hochul demanding a ban on the conversion of old city power plants into mining farms.

Several organizations and labor enterprises sent
letter to New York State Governor Kathleen Hochul (Kathleen Hochul). They demand, so that the city administration introduces a moratorium on mining cryptocurrencies, using the Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism (PoW), until, until a conclusion is received on the environmental impact of mining, water and air quality in the state. The letter expresses concern that, what, if miners start expanding in New York, this could jeopardize the implementation of the initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, since cryptocurrency mining requires a huge amount of electricity.

In particular, The letter demands the revocation of mining permits for the Greenidge and Fortistar North Tonawanda power plants.. The argument is based on a statement from New York State Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Basil Seggos (Basil Seggos) About that, that Greenidge is not committed to complying with New York's climate laws. IN 2018 Greenidge threw it away 119 207 tons of carbon dioxide, in 2019 year - 39,406 tons, and c 2020 year -228,303 tons.

The Fortistar North Tonawanda power plant has also increased its greenhouse gas emissions in recent years: in 2019 year this figure was equal 9245 tons of carbon dioxide per year, and in 2020 year he grew up to 10 981 ton. It is assumed, that these emissions will skyrocket. At the same time, harmful substances are released into the atmosphere: nitric oxide, carbon monoxide and carbon monoxide, which can negatively impact air quality and local health.

The applicants believe, that the city administration should prohibit local power plants and businesses from mining cryptocurrencies, because they only exist on the Internet, and they lack physical coins and banknotes. Cryptocurrencies are not issued by a central bank and do not have government backing, therefore they are popular among cybercriminals and scammers, stated in the letter.

This is not the first time that claims from local residents against Greenidge Generation have arisen.. In July, New York State residents accused it of unsustainable mining due to the extreme heating of water in Seneca Lake, after that, how a power plant began to mine bitcoins.