According to an early NBC News report, Seneca Lake in upstate New York has been transformed into a massive hot tub due to the heat from a crypto plant nearby. The warmed water, which is the largest of the Finger Lakes, has been used to cool 8,000 bitcoin-mining processors within the Greenidge power station.
According to an Input report, local locals have remarked the lake is "so warm you feel like you're in a hot spa." It's not humblebragging if that sounds like it.
Bitcoin mining drastically altered New York's Seneca Lake
Regrettably, this comes as no surprise. To keep the computer system running at full speed, Greenidge is processing over 139 million gallons of water each day, with 135 million gallons deposited into Seneca Lake at high temperatures, which can reach 108 degrees in the summer and 86 degrees in the winter.
Greenidge has no plans to scale back its Bitcoin mining efforts, which is concerning. "The environmental effect of the plant has never been better than it is right now," stated business CEO Jeff Kirt in the report. He also claimed that Greenidge purchases carbon offsets to mitigate its environmental impact, however no public data backs up this claim, and it appears that Bitcoin mining activities are having observable climatic effects. In other words, the checks and balances of carbon offsets aren't matching up with the real-world changes to Seneca Lake that local residents have noticed.
This is a power plant operating in a logistical grey area, where licences are provided to companies that haven't yet been obliged to back up their claims of environmental importance. According to the Input report, Greenidge's carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions increased by roughly tenfold from January to December 2020, according to a watchdog group called Earth Justice. The group is taking steps to ensure that the state of New York rejects the company's next permit renewal application, which is due in September. If one corporation can get away with breaking the regulations in murky areas, then so can everyone else. But it's not only about how things appear "on paper."
According to Judith Enck, a former EPA administrator, if Greenidge doesn't change his tune, his impact on the climate could prevent the state of New York from meeting its emissions objectives, says Input. In the meanwhile, regardless of the damage its Bitcoin mining efforts are having on Seneca Lake, Greenidge plans to ramp up its mining equipment soon. It's becoming shockingly easier for corporations in emerging industries or markets that have a high environmental cost to avoid regulatory supervision in grey areas, even if they maintain a public image of entire devotion to carbon-neutral aims. It's strange, but it's not likely to go away anytime soon.
