In early May, the day after Congress opened in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Public Hearings on Cryptomining Industry and Climate Changethe White House, New Tax on Huge Amounts of Electricity It is being used by cryptomining companies to minimize the industry’s massive impact in worsening the climate crisis.
The cryptomining industry, which has exploded in recent years in the United States, is proving to be energy intensive and operating with little government oversight. And the industry is also making inroads in Pennsylvania, with various cryptomining companies setting up stores across the Commonwealth and burning fossil fuels to power their machines. If we want our state to take the climate crisis and local air pollution and their health effects seriously, we should follow the lead of the White House in regulating the cryptomining industry before it’s too late.
Proof of work cryptomining Bitcoin mining often requires millions of machines competing to solve complex mathematical problems. This doesn’t look like an individual using a computer at home. A proof-of-work cryptocurrency is like a warehouse or shipping container with hundreds of computing machines. As more mining machines enter the race, math problems become harder and power requirements continue to grow exponentially.Uses of Cryptomining Up to 1.7% of Japan’s electricityThis is similar to the energy requirements for all home computers and residential lighting in the United States. Globally, cryptomining uses more energy than the entire country of Argentina or Australia. As a result, cryptomining companies are turning to cheaper and more accessible forms of energy to stay in business. dirty fossil fuel.
Here in Pennsylvania, crypto mining companies burn waste coal and fracking gas Power your mining operations with little or no regulation or oversight. Only in the last few years Stronghold Digital Mining Acquisition Two old abandoned coal mills in Pennsylvania, burning piles of coal deny power generation for mining. This releases large amounts of harmful air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide.
Cryptominers are also reopening gas well pads that must be capped to prevent methane contamination. Diversified Production LLC Elk County Gas Field Pad And it uses fracking gas as fuel for its cryptomining activities. Burning coal and fracking gases, regardless of their use, leads to increased levels of greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and air toxins. And it doesn’t help that mining cryptocurrencies requires a lot of coal. Simply put, allowing cryptocurrency mining companies to burn more fossil fuels undermines Pennsylvania’s efforts to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Allowing cryptocurrency mining companies to burn more fossil fuels would undermine Pennsylvania’s efforts to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
To make things even worse, current Pennsylvania tax law: Encourage crypto mining companies Start your operation here. Burning waste coal is not only harmful, it is also costly. Coal-fired power plants are shutting down across the country because they can’t compete with cheap energy. The only reason cryptomining companies like Stronghold see burning waste coal as a viable option is because of the various subsidies offered by the state. Many incentives encourage these companies to burn waste coal. Stronghold CEO Greg Beard himself said: “Without subsidies, waste coal recycling will not happen.”
Using state resources to invest in the growth of proof-of-work cryptomining is a risky investment that threatens the health of all Pennsylvanians. We have a responsibility to our people and the climate to act before it’s too late.
Pennsylvania Congressman Greg Vitali is chairman of the Environment, Resources and Energy Commission. Charles McPhedran is Senior Counsel for Earthjustice’s Clean Energy Program.
