A controversial bitcoin mining operation will be allowed to continue operating in the Finger Lakes under a new agreement requiring it to reduce emissions, New York’s environmental regulators said Monday.
The fossil fuel-powered plant, operated by Greenidge Generation, has the capacity to run more than 20,000 computers continuously to solve complex algorithms that release new bitcoin.
Greenidge had been locked in a years-long legal battle with local environmental advocates and the state Department of Environmental Conservation, which had ruled the plant did not comply with New York’s climate law requiring emissions reductions.
The new deal between Greenidge and state regulators requires the plant to reduce its pollution by 44%, or 282,000 tons of carbon dioxide by 2030.
“The agreement holds Greenidge Generation accountable to new proposed permit conditions that are protective of the community and brings the Greenidge facility in line with greenhouse gas and co-pollutant emissions levels consistent with the Climate Act,” environmental department spokesperson Jeff Wernick said in a statement.
The agreement was signed Friday, the same day Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration reached an agreement paving the way for construction of a new gas pipeline in New York Harbor that was backed by President Donald Trump. Trump is a big supporter of virtual currency.
The Greenidge agreement does not offer specifics on how the company will reduce emissions from the plant. Greenidge President Dale Irwin said the agreement includes “historic emissions reductions.”
“While this process has been lengthy, we thank the Hochul administration and the current team at [the environmental agency] for allowing the law and the facts to drive policy,” he said. “We’re pleased with this tough, fair new permit, and happy to put this process where it has belonged for years — in the rear-view mirror.”
Environmental groups are determined to challenge the decision with legal action. Yvonne Taylor, co-founder of Seneca Lake Guardian, is skeptical of the agreement and if Greenidge will actually lower its climate emissions in compliance with state laws.
“ We were absolutely shocked and stunned and outraged that Governor Hochul would surrender to corporate polluters like this, abandoned the Finger Lakes region and gut the climate law all in one fell swoop,” Taylor said. “ I can guarantee you right now that she has lost the support of the people in the Finger Lakes and many of her constituents throughout New York because of this failure.”
The plant overlooking Seneca Lake became a cryptomine in 2020. The state denied a key air permit for the plant in June 2022 after months of delays by regulators and protests by the local community and environmental groups. Greenidge sued the state, challenging the state’s decision.
At full capacity, the 107-megawatt facility can power 75,000 homes in New York. But the plant is exclusively used to power cryptomining. It releases more than 500,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases annually.
Greenidge is not the only cryptomining power plant in the state. In North Tonawanda, near Buffalo, a 60-megawatt gas plant is also seeking an air permit to continue virtual currency operations.