A new mining industry threatens New York State’s environment and climate goals

A statement by Earthjustice arguing that proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining in New York State undermines the state's climate goals by increasing greenhouse gas emissions and reviving dormant fossil fuel power plants.

• Proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining, used for currencies such as bitcoin, utilizes high-capacity computers operating continuously to validate coins, which leads to high energy consumption from the New York grid and the reactivation of dormant fossil fuel-burning power plants.
• The Greenidge Generating Station in Dresden, New York, converted a dormant coal plant into a gas-fueled plant to power a 24/7 cryptomining facility starting in early 2020. This resulted in a ten-fold increase in greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, with EPA data showing CO2 emissions rose from 119,013 tons through June 30, 2021, to 203,833 tons through September 30, 2021.
• Environmental concerns have been raised regarding the Greenidge Generating Station's discharge of up to 134 million gallons of water daily into Seneca Lake at temperatures reaching 108 degrees Fahrenheit, which the EPA indicates can cause toxic algae blooms and stress fish.
• The energy demands of proof-of-work mining are described as a barrier to meeting residential and industrial needs via renewable energy, potentially undermining the goals of New York's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).
• Earthjustice calls on Governor Hochul to implement a moratorium on proof-of-work mining to study its energy and environmental impacts and to deny the air permit for the Greenidge facility.

APA

Moran, E. (2022). A new mining industry threatens New York State’s environment and climate goals. Earthjustice. https://earthjustice.org/experts/elizabeth-moran/a-new-mining-industry-threatens-new-york-states-environment-and-climate-goals

Chicago

Moran, Elizabeth. A new mining industry threatens New York State’s environment and climate goals. Earthjustice, 2022. https://earthjustice.org/experts/elizabeth-moran/a-new-mining-industry-threatens-new-york-states-environment-and-climate-goals.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Moran |first1=Elizabeth |title=A new mining industry threatens New York State’s environment and climate goals |publisher=Earthjustice |date=30 March 2022 |url=https://earthjustice.org/experts/elizabeth-moran/a-new-mining-industry-threatens-new-york-states-environment-and-climate-goals |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{moran2022new, author = {Moran, Elizabeth}, title = {{A new mining industry threatens New York State’s environment and climate goals}}, publisher = {Earthjustice}, year = {2022}, month = mar, url = {https://earthjustice.org/experts/elizabeth-moran/a-new-mining-industry-threatens-new-york-states-environment-and-climate-goals}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }