New York Senator Kevin S. Parker drafted a bill to suspend cryptocurrency miners across the New York state for 3 years. The draft was transferred to the Environmental Protection Committee for evaluation.
In the draft submitted to the Senate on May 3, it is proposed to evaluate the crypto mining environmental impact.
If the bill is passed, crypto mining facilities that do not meet New York’s emission targets will not be allowed to mine.
The Bill States:
“A single cryptocurrency transaction uses the same amount of energy that an average American household uses in one month, with an estimated level of global energy usage equivalent to that of the country of Sweden.”
Senator Parker proposes that cryptocurrency mining should be suspended for 3 years across the state. During this time, we will examine how mining facilities affect gas emissions, water, air quality and wildlife in the region.
As a result of the evaluation, mining facilities that are found violating the Climate and Community Protection Law approved in 2019 will not be allowed to mine. The Act set targets like 70% renewable energy by 2030 and 100% zero-emission electricity by 2040. Also, the act aims to reduce 22 million tons of carbon through electrification and energy efficiency.
It is aimed that by 2030, 70% of the total electricity used in New York will be supplied from renewable sources.
According to CoinDesk report, 19 megawatts of natural gas is being burned in an old coal power plant in Finger Lakes to mine cryptocurrencies. The endeavor has proven so profitable that site operator Greenidge Generation is planning to boost capacity to 500 megawatts by 2025.
“The fight over Greenidge’s expansion plan foreshadowed what could be a monumental blow to New York’s miners – one that if successful would freeze every commercial mining operation in the state and likely threaten those found to be irreconcilable with the state’s climate and environmental goals.
Just two weeks ago, the operator convinced local politicians to approve its expansion plan without subjecting it to an environmental review. Environmentalists were aghast. The politicians said they were too. But their hands were tied by state law.
“We got all the same issues you do,” David Granzin, chairman of the planning board in the upstate town of Torrey, which is located near the Greenidge plant, told skeptical attendees at the approval hearing, according to Binghamton NPR affiliate WSKG.”
“We know that Bitcoin is a big waste of energy, but we’re bound by the law. We have to follow the rules,” Granzin said.
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