At a public hearing on cryptocurrency mining last week, Assembly members gave the impression of emerging with two imperatives: first, to find out if the practice of bitcoin mining has destructive environmental effects that justify regulating the industry, and second, for New Yorkers what cryptocurrency mining is.
For those who don’t look at Bitcoin blogs, cryptocurrency mining may simply be a foreign term, anything Assemblywoman Pamela Hunter reminded her colleagues and panelists at Wednesday’s hearing. In other words, this reaches thousands of computers stored in warehouses that compete 24 hours a day with other computers in other warehouses to solve puzzles that allow them to unlock a new virtual currency like Bitcoin as they move into circulation.
Why deserve the attention of New Yorkers distrustful of cryptocurrencies?Because Bitcoin mining is already underway in the state. Computers that make up mining in this specific method, known as “proof of work. “An investigation through the New York Times revealed that Bitcoin mining consumes more electrical energy each year than Finland (yes, the whole country).
The goal of last week’s Assembly hearing was to hear testimony on whether Bitcoin mining’s proof-of-work approach undermines New York’s ability to meet greenhouse gas emissions relief targets, and whether action needs to be taken for the practice.
One of these sites near Seneca Lake, which plays proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining, lately relies on its own herbal fuel strength plant to force its work. claim that this and other sites like this contribute to air and noise pollution, water quality issues and e-waste.
The long term of this mine is ultimately in the hands of New York State and is a successful Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019. Greenidge Generation, which manages the Yates County plant, is in the process of applying for renewal of air emissions and acid rain lets in from the State Department of Environmental Conservation. If the branch finds that the site is not in compliance with the state’s weather law — and greenhouse fuel relief goals — and refuses permit renewals, it may set a precedent that will prevent similar cryptocurrency mining sites from appearing in the state.
This is the result that some legislators, surrounding teams and citizens expect. And a separate resolution through the branch last week: block entry permits for two new strength plants powered by herbal gas on the grounds that they would not comply with the CLCPA. – may bode well for those who expect the state to also reject the renewal of licenses for the Bitcoin mining plant. “Obviously, the resolution for Danskammer and Astoria is, needless to say, promising, but it was encouraging,” the Assembly member said. Anna Kelles, referring to the proposed stalled plants, the Danskammer Energy Center in Newburgh and Astoria Gas Turbine Power. These plants were not intended to be used for Bitcoin mining, however, considerations about the destructive effects in the surroundings related to them are among the same as those raised with Bitcoin mining plants.
In a statement earlier this month, the decomposer said that Greenidge, the cryptocurrency mining site, has yet to demonstrate compliance with the CLCPA, adding targets to reduce greenhouse fuels contained in the law. The state is required by law to reduce greenhouse fuel emissions by 40% from 1990 degrees through 2030 and 85% through 2050. However, DEC has not yet made a final resolution on whether to grant or deny a renewal. of Greenidge’s atmospheric emissions. permitted. Meanwhile, Greenidge maintains that the site is CLCPA compliant. “We assist the goals of the CLCPA and will continue to do our component to help the state achieve them,” a Greenidge spokesperson wrote in an email. “It is vital to note that even if our facilities were operating at full licensed capacity, our prospective emissions would only constitute approximately 0. 23% of the state’s greenhouse fuel relief target by 2030 under the CLCPA. The company also notes that part of the electrical energy produced at the plant is supplied to the grid and announced earlier this year that it is carbon neutral through voluntary purchases of carbon offsets.
If the branch refuses to renew the plant’s license, it may not completely block new cryptocurrency mining sites, but it may set a precedent for others hoping to move to New York. “Other programs can be submitted, but I think the message is transparent to them, unless they can make it transparent that their plan aligns with the CLCPA, they may be expecting a similar response,” Kelles said.
Russ Haven, a general suggestion from the New York Public Interest Research Group, said at the Assembly hearing last week that proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining threatens the state’s climate replacement goals. only a monumental resolution in itself, however, points to the steep slope on which power plants have reshaped Bitcoin mining operations by demonstrating that they can comply with weather law. difficult to block that the renovation lets in for an existing one like Greenidge.
But Greenidge’s is just one place, and last week’s Assembly hearing highlighted more drastic measures that some lawmakers are pushing to prevent the conversion of other power plants into mining Bitcoin. A stalled bill in the latest legislative consultation would enact a moratorium on corporations using this kind of forced-suction proof-of-work approach for cryptocurrency mining. State Sen. Kevin Parker sponsored the bill in the Senate, where it passed at the end of the last referendum, but did not advance in the Assembly, where Kelles led Environmentalists need this bill passed.
The bill and other efforts to regulate cryptocurrency mining face opposition from business teams and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers who claim that Bitcoin mining plants create jobs and the state’s tech industry. Proof-of-work approach to cryptocurrency mining: Kelles rejects the concept that approving the bill would shut down the bitcoin business in New York, noting that there are other, less energy-intensive mining strategies.
While it failed to advance this consultation, Kelles’ bill, and scrutiny of the Bitcoin mining industry, may attract more attention in the upcoming legislative consultation. “The fact that this audience even existed on this topic indicates that there is a replacement in the trend of people, not only of cryptocurrencies, but more particularly of the negative environmental effects of the proof-of-work validation method, unlike the other form of validation,” Kelles said.
Help us personalize the particular content for you: