The site of the last working coal plant in New York State will soon be home to a new mining operation.
One of the biggest cryptocurrencies sites in the United States is expanding across the state.
A metal-recycling mogul with more than 11 million followers on social media is making a start-up with banks of computers in shipping containers next to a scrapyard.
In upstate New York, the buzz is about companies that are scrambling to create the digital currency by mining it virtually with all types and sizes of computer farms.
A swath of northern and western New York has become one of the biggest producers of the digital currency. The prospectors in the digital gold rush need cheap electricity to run their computer rigs.
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In a mix of old and new technologies, operators of the 1897 Mechanicville Hydroelectric Plant, on the Hudson River north of Albany, have begun a modest Bitcoin mining business.
The area had cheap hydroelectric power and was home to many shuttered power plants. The abandoned infrastructure can be used to mine for Bitcoins.
The companies say they are boosting local economies by bringing industry back and creating a criptomption north of New York City, where the stock of criptomption hit a record high on Wall Street this year.
The amount of electricity and pollution involved in mining for the digital currency has caused a lot of controversy. According to a report, cryptocurrencies mining consumes more electricity than all of Argentina. China banned the practice this year in order to achieve its carbon-reduction goals, which led some miners to move to New York.
Environmental groups say that the Wild West-style scramble and lack of restrictions on mining for.btc is threatening the state's emission reduction goals.
Many of the faded industrial towns that used to be there are eager for any new business-tax revenue that can be generated by the new business-tax revenue.
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The New York Times has a story on the crocodiles gathered on a water intake pipe.
In the Finger Lakes region, a former coal plant has been converted into a natural gas-burning plant, which now powers a mining site. Near Buffalo, a company that uses the name of a form of digital currency is looking for cheaper electricity by taking over a gas-fired power plant.
Environmental groups like Earthjustice and the Sierra Club are monitoring old natural-gas plants in upstate New York that could be used to mine for Bitcoins if greenhouse gas emissions increase.
Plants that buy renewable energy from the grid have drawn complaints. Environmentalists warn that675316753167531s will be left dependent on fossil fuel power if a large mining plant uses more electricity than most cities in the state.
Large mining companies that buy it in bulk in order to promote themselves as green are helped by the abundance of renewable energy upstate.
Terawulf, a mining company that uses the digital currency, is opening a plant in New York this month. A proposed 150-megawatt data center is located at a former coal plant in the Finger Lakes.
Terawulf's chief executive said the plant would use hydroelectric power salvaged from the falls that is otherwise difficult to send to other locations because of grid congestion.
He said that the plant would comply with state environmental rules and not cause air pollution.
New York does not place restrictions on mining despite requiring companies that engage in many aspects of the currency to obtain a license.
Plattsburgh and Massena, two early destinations near the Canadian border, have imposed moratoriums on the practice.
Some lawmakers want to make New York one of the first states to ban certain types of mining for the digital currency. Legislation that would have imposed a statewide moratorium on fossil-fuel powered mining died in the Assembly after the Senate approved it.
Assemblywoman Anna R. Kelles, a Democrat from the Ithaca area, sponsored the bill that made it easier for companies to fly under the radar. It is too new of an industry to not be regulated in regards to greenhouse gas emission and the effect on water and air. Ms. Kelles said she would revive the bill next year.
Some environmental activists want Kathy Hochul to issue an executive order to ban some types of mining.
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The Greenidge plant is part of a battle over the health of the popular vacation destination of Seneca Lake.
The shuttered coal plant on Seneca Lake was converted into a natural gas-burning plant by Greenidge, which was owned at the time by a private equity firm with $6 billion in holdings. Greenidge is the first publicly traded company with a mine integrated into a power plant. The plant can generate enough electricity to power 85,000 homes.
Dale Irwin, Greenidge's chief executive, said in a statement that the plant was creating a new economic engine that would bring a piece of the world's digital future to upstate New York.
The greenhouse gas emissions of the plant have increased along with its mining activity, and so has the opposition from some local residents who call the plant an environmental threat to this rural stretch of vineyards, farm stands, pristine waterways and world-class gorges.
Greenidge has a permit to draw more than 100 million gallons of water a day from the lake for cooling purposes and to return it to a nearby trout stream.
The outflow posed no danger and the lake temperatures had not been affected.
He said that the plant's emissions had increased since the beginning of the year, but were still below state-permitted levels. He insisted that the plant does not pose an environmental threat.
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Greenidge Generation is applying to state regulators for air permit renewals, and opponents see an opportunity to curb the company's expansion.
Greenidge is applying to the state to renew air emissions permits, and opponents see an opportunity for the state to curb the company's expansion.
The plant's application has been asked to be reviewed by state and federal regulators.
Basil Seggos, the state's environmental conservativism commissioner, wrote on the internet in September that Greenidge has not shown compliance with NY's climate law. The public comment period regarding the permit renewal was urged by him.
The town of Torrey gave the green light for Greenidge to build several structures at the plant.
Patrick H. Flynn is a farmer and the town supervisor of Torrey.
He said that they can't restrict a business. It is the same as raising cattle or pigs or chickens.
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Yvonne Taylor is the vice president of Seneca Lake Guardian, a local group. Cindy Shultz for The New York Times said that we need the governor to step in.
Yvonne Taylor, the vice president of the local group, accused state officials of failing the public by not requiring an environmental review before issuing permits to Greenidge.
Ms. Taylor said that it can't be a town-by-town fight. We need the governor to step in. If she wants to be a champion on climate, she needs to put a stop to this type of energy-intensivecryptocurrencies or we will never achieve our climate goals.
Greenidge's case is not unique. The company that is reviving a gas-fired power plant in Buffalo has faced criticism that the increased emissions will affect areas that have been polluted by industrial toxins. The Love Canal neighborhood in the Falls became notorious for the toxic landfill that harmed hundreds of residents.
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The president of the common council in North Tonawanda, New York, said that they are trying to bring in a new business because a lot of industry has left over the years.
Robert Pecoraro, the president, said that the local officials approved the plans because the environmental toll of the new operation seemed minimal compared with the benefits the company was expected to bring, including new jobs and up to $1 million in annual fees for municipal water to cool the plant.
At least 30 permanent jobs will be created by the plant, which will operate within state emissions limits, begin shifting to more renewable energy sources, feed the grid when needed, and help western New York keep up with the tech industry.
Mr. Pecoraro stood outside the gas plant and watched workers build a large shed to hold the new server. He didn't understand the opposition to the area and the economic boost it would bring.
Over the years, a lot of industry has left. The people are fighting us on that.
