Yesterday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law that makes it a crime to operate a dirty type of mining in the state. Any new permits for fossil fuel power plants will be put on hold for two years.
In one high-profile case, a struggling gas plant in New York's Finger Lakes region overcame economic challenges by miningCryptocurrencies. The environmental advocates hoped that the moratorium would prevent other gas or coal plants from turning into mining operations.
There is a moratorium on the use of energy-hungry processes for proof-of-work in the mining of digital currency. It burns as much electricity as a small country every year because miners run specialized hardware around the clock to add blocks of transactions to the network.
It is the first of its kind in the country.
New York has a law against mining companies using gas and coal plants to power their operations. It does not regulate miners that use renewable energy or those that use a lesspolluting method. The law requires the state to complete an environmental impact study on proof-of-work cryptocurrencies in New York.
Hochul wrote in a memo yesterday that the legislation was a key step in addressing the global climate crisis.
The legislation was pushed by advocates who said fossil fuel power plants would derail the state's climate goals. The Greenidge Generating Station, which is located in the Finger Lakes, alarmed some residents with its noise and possible impact on the environment. Greenidge's renewed air permit was denied. The plant can challenge the decision. Greenidge isn't subject to the new moratorium since it's already operating
The new legislation is bad news for the winter. After China cracked down on the practice of mining, New York became a hub for it. It looks like the residency might be short. If the governor signs the bill, I think you would see a pretty swift exodus of any miners that aren't almost solely reliant on renewable energy.
A lot of miners are leaving because they aren't reliant on renewable energy.
The association spent $225,000 in Albany this year to defeat the bill Hochul just signed. Some environmental advocates were worried that Hochul might let the bill die because of the thousands of dollars she received from the association. Hochul was given an end-of-the- year deadline to sign or veto the bill.
Liz Moran, New York policy advocate for the nonprofit Earthjustice, thanked Governor Hochul for setting a precedent for the rest of the country. The Climate Act passed in New York will cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 85% by the year 2050.
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