NEW YORK — State lawmakers and advocates are launching an effort to clamp down on energy-intensive crypto mining operations.
Greenidge and Digi Power X now operate crypto mining facilities in the Finger Lakes and North Tonawanda after acquiring gas plants in those communities. Both companies are continuing to operate on air quality permits that have expired but are extended under the State Administrative Procedure Act, which is permitted if they submit a renewal within a certain time frame.
“Greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollution have increased over 3,500 percent since … DigiPower X began crypto mining in North Tonawanda,” Deb Gondek, chair of the North Tonawanda Climate Smart Communities Task Force, told journalists Friday.
Why it matters: The purchase of gas plants or high power usage for cryptocurrency mining were a major concern for environmental advocates in New York in previous years. Some Democratic lawmakers and environmental groups worry the large amount of energy that mining for digital coins requires makes it tougher to meet New York’s already out of reach 70 percent renewable by 2030 target.
