Crypto Mining Firms Must Invest in Green Energy, Says Montana County
Crypto Mining Firms Must Invest in Green Energy, Says Montana County
In a pushback against power-heavy crypto mining, it has been reported on April 4, 2019, that the Montana County of Missoula has passed a motion requiring all new crypto mining projects to invest in renewable energy.
High Consumption
Despite the many benefits that cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin offer, there are some inevitable downsides and one of the best known of these is its high energy requirement for mining.
There have been several stories in the news of people being arrested for stealing electricity in order to mine bitcoin from schools and so on. The effects of these have been particularly felt by the small towns with low energy costs that have seen many mining companies move their operations there. In fact, some towns have even proposed banning mining companies altogether.
However, Missoula county in Montana, USA, has taken a different approach. Instead of putting a ban on mining firms altogether, it has been reported on April 4, 2019, that the town has passed a unanimous decision that requires all crypto mining firms in the area to fund or be working on a source of renewable energy to offset their high power consumption.
A Greener Future
Missoula’s renewable energy actions stretch far beyond crypto as the county is on a mission to run on 100 percent renewable energy by the year 2030.
According to Josh Slotnick, a member the board of commissioners, the current practices of the mining companies were not compatible with this goal and were not sustainable as they were using up to a third of the county’s entire energy.
Hyperblock, the only mining company that exists in the county, does not agree with this new resolution and feels that they are being targeted. Though the Canadian-owned company will not be subject to this new rule as they are not a new operation, their manager Jason Vaughan has stated that the new rule is rather convenient considering they are in the process of expanding.
Hyperblock is certainly an anomaly in the world of crypto mining. Even though many of their counterparts went out of business after the price crash, they had access to very cheap hydroelectric power which helped them stay afloat.
Now, Vaughan says, they will try and see if the amount spent on expansion can exempt them from the new rules moving forward and if not, they will try to get around it anyways.
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http://bit.ly/2FUbkJa April 8, 2019 at 06:08AM @BruceDayne, @Tokoni Uti April 8, 2019 at 09:12AM