DRESDEN, Sept. 21, 2020 — A group of Yates County residents has asked state environmental regulators to modify, suspend or revoke Greenidge Generation’s operating permits to reflect the power plant’s rapidly developing role as an off-the-grid data center that “mines” Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency.
The company won the air and water permits in 2017 on the basis of its stated plan to operate as a peaker plant providing backup power to the electric grid.
But weak demand from the grid often left the power plant idle. It operated at only 6 percent of its 106 megawatt capacity last year, after producing at 18 percent of its capacity in 2017 and 20 percent of capacity in 2018.
This spring, the Dresden power plant pivoted to Bitcoin mining — a lucrative and energy-intensive activity — to better take advantage of its energy generating potential.
Now Greenidge operates continuously, generating “behind-the-meter” power that never reaches the grid. It runs banks of on-site computer servers that confirm cryptocurrency transactions to earn Bitcoin. . . .