North Tonawanda residents and environmental advocates on Thursday again urged New York State to take action against an Erie Avenue cryptomining site that has become a growing source of noise complaints and greenhouse gas emissions.
Representatives for the company behind the operation, a Canadian firm called Digihost, promised to create dozens of high-paying jobs and pioneer several new green-energy technologies when they first appeared before the North Tonawanda Common Council two years ago.
Some residents say the Digihost cryptocurrency mine outside Buffalo has become a persistent nuisance and environmental hazard – overseen by a mysterious, out-of-town firm that has hired few local workers and shared little about its plans for the future.
Instead, Digihost has moved to power its fleet of specialized cryptomining computers by ramping up electricity production at a little-used natural-gas generating plant, The Buffalo News reported in August. That change could increase the plant’s carbon dioxide discharge by up to 290,000 metric tons per year – equivalent to the emissions from 66,000 motor vehicles.
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Critics say the revival of the Fortistar plant flies in the face of New York State’s landmark Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which mandated an 85% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
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North Tonawanda resident Deborah Gondek holds a petition supporting an injunction to stop Digihost’s Bitcoin mining project on Erie Avenue in the city.
During a Thursday morning press conference, they again called on the state Department of Environmental Conservation and Gov. Kathy Hochul to deny the plant a mandatory air pollution permit it needs to continue operating.
“GHG emissions from burning fossil fuels, like the fracked gas being used at this facility, are a big contributor to global warming,” said Deborah Gondek, a North Tonawanda resident and environmental advocate who opposes the Digihost operation. “We don’t want Bitcoin mining operations in North Tonawanda or in any other cities because of the harm to health and environment.”
Opponents are calling for Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Department of Environmental Conservation to deny renewal of an air permit for the Fortistar plant at 1070 Erie Ave. that Digihost bought earlier this year.
The DEC permitting process represents perhaps the last opportunity for Digihost’s critics to scuttle the project. Residents and environmental advocates previously challenged the project’s approval in two separate lawsuits, both of which were dismissed.
DEC officials have said they are reviewing the permit application and have not set a timeline for the agency’s decision. But the DEC should move faster, advocates said, particularly given its June 2022 ruling against a similar cryptomining facility at the Greenridge Generation plant in the Finger Lakes, which cited an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
“They have to follow the precedent that was set by Greenridge,” said Liz Moran, the New York policy advocate for the national environmental group Earthjustice. “The longer they wait, the longer the residents in North Tonawanda suffer.”
In addition to greenhouse gas emissions, Digihost’s neighbors have voiced concerns about the facility’s water use and complained about persistent noise from the industrial fans that cool the facility’s computers, even after the installation of a sound barrier.
One prospective North Tonawanda homeowner – a Wheatfield resident who planned to build a home on a new road near the plant – recently reversed course after learning about the noise concerns, Mayor Austin Tylec said.
Deb Gondek shares her concerns about the Digihost cryptocurrency mining facility in North Tonawanda.
“Development opportunities, in the sense of residential properties along the street,” he said, “have kind of taken a pause right now.”