New York Bitcoin Mining Project Faces Noise Issues and Harassment from State's Climate Virtue Signaling Policies
In September 2022, the New York Public Service Commission (PSC), which oversees and regulates public utilities in the state, approved the takeover of the Fortistar gas-fired power plant in North Tonawanda, NY, a town close to Niagara Falls, by Canadian crypto mining company Digihost. In December 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) offered its blessing too.
All of which prompted the radicals of Earthjustice, representing two other disgusting radical groups—the Sierra Club and Clean Air Coalition of Western New York—to sue (see Green Radicals Sue NYS for Approving Niagara Falls Bitcoin Plant). Fortunately, the lawsuit didn’t stop the transfer, which happened in early 2023 (see Canadian Bitcoin Operator Completes Purchase of WNY Gas-Fired Plant). However, Earthjustice continued to pursue its lawsuit and yesterday got a ruling from a state court to nullify the PSC’s original approval of the sale to Digihost.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency “miners,” as they are called, use large quantities of electricity to operate the hundreds and thousands of computer servers they operate. Some of the cheapest electricity to be had is generated by clean-burning natural gas. Hence the marriage of bitcoin with gas-fired power plants that we often see around the country.
Although the court—a lower-level county trial court which, in screwed-up New York, is called Supreme Court—nullified the PSC’s approval of the sale, Digihost still (for now) retains ownership of the plant and the plant is still operational. Nothing has changed. It remains to be seen what the longer-term consequences will be.
For now, the ruling means the PSC will need to consider how to mitigate or undo the effect of its failure to consider the emissions consequences of the purchase. NY has a wackadoodle climate law, which all state agencies must now consider when making decisions. It’s completely insane (and yet another reason for the stampede of people leaving the state).
Today, the Supreme Court of Albany County vacated a decision to approve the transfer of ownership of Fortistar North Tonawanda, a 55-megawatt fracked gas power plant, to Digihost International, which uses the plant to power its cryptocurrency mining operation on site. The Court ordered the NYS-Public Service Commission (PSC) to analyze the transfer under New York’s Climate Law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).
The court faulted the agency’s failure to follow CLCPA Section 7(2) which requires New York State agencies to consider whether agency decisions are inconsistent with or interfere with the statewide greenhouse gas emission limits set by the law, and to mitigate the damage from decisions that result in greenhouse gas emissions. Although the PSC acknowledged that there were serious environmental issues with allowing a cryptocurrency mining company to purchase a gas plant with the plan to run it as a 24/7 power source for a bitcoin mine, the agency refused to consider them. The Opinion orders the PSC to review the transaction again — this time applying the CLCPA.
While today’s decision does not undo Digihost’s purchase of the power plant, it sends the approval back to the PSC, which now must consider how to either mitigate or undo the effect of its failure to consider the emissions consequences of the purchase.
“This is welcome news – our state agencies must work with communities and labor to meet the goals of the CLCPA and ensure a Just Transition. The absurdity of allowing the sale of a fossil fuel-based power plant to be used for wasteful operations like cryptocurrency mining which offers little if any benefit to the community or to our job force does not align with anyone’s best interest,” said Chris Murawski, executive director of Clean Air Coalition of Western New York.
“The Public Service Commission is not exempt from New York’s landmark climate law. All agencies are required to consider how their decisions contribute to the climate crisis and the plight of disadvantaged communities already impacted by regressive energy policy,” said Roger Downs, conservation director for the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter. “We applaud the court for ordering the PSC to reevaluate their role in reviving an energy-hungry cryptomine in a community already disproportionately burdened by power plant pollution. When the PSC fails to carefully consider the environmental impacts of its decisions it violates the intent of the climate law and the justice it seeks to advance. We hope this ruling is an appropriate wake-up call for the PSC to do better.”
On January 13, 2023, the Clean Air Coalition of Western New York and Sierra Club, represented by Earthjustice, filed suit with the Supreme Court of Albany County citing violations of New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) in the approval of a fossil fuel-burning Proof-of-Work (PoW) cryptocurrency mining operation. The lawsuit challenges the New York Public Service Commission (PSC)’s approval to transfer ownership of the occasionally utilized power plant in Western NY to a 24/7 Crypto mining operation. The lawsuit seeks to ensure that the PSC follows the legal obligations established by the CLCPA.
On September 15, 2022, the PSC approved the sale of Fortistar North Tonawanda, a 55-megawatt fracked gas power plant located in the City of North Tonawanda, NY to Digihost International, a Canadian cryptocurrency mining company. Over the five years preceding the sale, Fortistar only operated between 10 and 74 days per year, emitting relatively small amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other harmful air pollutants. With the approval by the PSC, Digihost was able to ramp up its operations to 24/7/365, increasing its greenhouse gas emissions up to 3,500% even as the rest of New York works to drastically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions as mandated by NY’s Climate Law.
Communities surrounding the gas plant have been designated as “disadvantaged communities” under state law and include census tracts that the state has assessed as bearing an environmental burden greater than that borne by 90% of the state. The increase in operations at Fortistar resulted in higher levels of dangerous local air pollutants that cause asthma, cancer, and premature death, harming an already environmentally overburdened community in violation of the CLCPA.
“This is not only a victory for the North Tonawanda community, but also a significant win for New York’s climate law. Today’s ruling confirms that every state agency and official must fully consider and uphold the CLCPA in all its decisions, safeguarding both our climate and the well-being of the public. The court’s decision reinforces that New York must prioritize the health and safety of its communities, setting a critical precedent for environmental justice and climate action,” said Dror Ladin, senior attorney at Earthjustice.
“The CLCPA was championed and passed into law not only to protect our climate and environment but also to shield vulnerable New Yorkers from environmental harm. Today, the New York Supreme Court stood up for us. For years, North Tonawanda has suffered from increased emissions and constant high noise levels from the Fortistar plant, which is now used by Digihost for bitcoin mining. This ruling ensures that the needs of our community are prioritized and that our climate laws are upheld.” said Deborah Gondek, Chair of North Tonawanda’s Climate Smart Communities Task Force.
There are negative aspects to these facilities. We won’t gloss over them. They can be very loud. The operators need to ensure they’re not driving the neighbors nuts. It appears that Digihost is not succeeding in that regard. In July, the North Tonawanda Common Council voted unanimously to ban new (or expanded) cryptocurrency mining operations in the town for two years. The noise from the Digihost facility is driving the neighbors nuts:
New cryptocurrency mining operations were banned in North Tonawanda for the next two years after a unanimous Common Council vote Tuesday evening.
The vote came as a relief to residents who had fought for the moratorium.
“It’s been a long time coming,” said Deb Gondek, one of the citizen advocates. “Residents have been suffering from the noise for far too long and put countless hours into this. … It’s nice to see the city take action.”
The city’s two-year moratorium on new operations or the expansion of existing “data centers” includes “facilities housing multiple banks of computers within a building, modular facilities containing processors in multiple storage-like containers, server clusters … and other operations related to cryptocurrency mining, blockchain authenticating, Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) processing, general data computing, processing and storage, and other large-scale electronic-based centers of the like,” according to the resolution passed Tuesday.
The ban on new data centers comes after the Common Council heard complaints from residents about the Digihost cryptocurrency mining facility off Erie Avenue since before it began operations in February 2022.
Digihost is a blockchain technology company that mines for cryptocurrency using energy from the grid and the Fortistar gas power plant it acquired in 2022.
The noise emanating from the facility has been said to reverberate at times like a jet plane engine throughout nearby neighborhoods, disturbing residents and possibly impacting their mental and physical health, according to experts. The intermittent and at times deafening noise likely comes from large fans that are needed to cool the bitcoin-mining computers housed in buildings at the Erie Avenue property.
The din of crypto mining: North Tonawanda says it can’t enforce noise law to protect residents
The noise from the Digihost facility has been polluting the North Tonawanda community for more than two years. Since then, residents said the city has done little, despite countless complaints, to enforce its noise ordinance against Digihost and give relief to those living around the facility.
Although city officials said they had been in regular contact with Digihost operators to reduce the noise from the facility, residents said it never went away.
It wasn’t until after residents came forward with a proposal for the moratorium on May 14 and The Buffalo News reported on the noise issues from Digihost in June that the city took action. At its July 2 and 9 meetings, the Common Council promised several actions to address noise pollution and proposed the moratorium.
Those actions included hiring an outside expert, Les Blomberg of the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse, to conduct noise monitoring around Digihost to determine whether the facility was violating the city’s noise ordinance. Additionally, Blomberg is contracted to train North Tonawanda’s police and code enforcement employees on how to properly use noise monitoring equipment to enforce the noise ordinance.
Blomberg is also expected to help the city update its noise ordinance.
He told The News in June that North Tonawanda’s noise ordinance should ensure residents are protected from “plainly audible noise” that can be heard on their property. The latest version of the city’s ordinance focuses on protection from “unreasonable noise,” which Blomberg noted was subjective.
In total, the city expects to pay Blomberg about $17,000 to $23,075 for his services. Digihost has promised to reimburse the city for costs incurred up to $30,000, according to North Tonawanda Mayor Austin Tylec.
During the two-year moratorium, the city also expects to update its zoning code to possibly address high noise levels.
North Tonawanda’s data center moratorium was disappointing, said Ewelina Czapla, director of energy policy at Digital Power Network, a bitcoin advocacy organization.
However, she noted that “issues around sound can easily be addressed through a series of different operational or technological changes that a data center can implement.”
North Tonawanda residents ask state to step in to regulate noise from crypto mining company
Fed up with the noise from a nearby crypto mining plant, North Tonawanda residents are turning to the state Department of Environmental Conservation as they seek to return their neighborhood to its former tranquility.
Czapla said facilities represented by Digital Power Network – which does not include Digihost – have converted from using fans to cool down their computers to liquid cooling tactics. Additionally, some facilities have built walls or planted trees to block the noise from disturbing residents, she said.
“At the end of the day, it really comes down to each company to make their own decisions around how they want to invest in those kinds of upgrades,” Czapla said.
Digihost did not respond to requests for comment from The News about the moratorium.
Tylec said that Digihost has recently been adjusting its equipment and plans to add a wall on the property that could help reduce noise from the facility.
Our interest in these facilities is that they use natural gas for power. They are big customers for natgas.
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Where is earth justice when windmills are killing whales and birds! Hurt the eco systems in the ocean and destroy the earth for solar panels! Hypocrites