New York Legislation Prevents Crypto Miners From Using Fossil Fuel-Generated Power
The New York State Legislature passed a bill that puts a two-year moratorium on using fossil-fuel power plants to supply energy to Bitcoin miners. Governor Kathy Hochul's office indicated that she had not yet decided whether to sign it.
Cryptocurrency mining consumes a lot of electricity because computers compete to solve mathematical puzzles to validate blockchain transactions. Cryptocurrency is awarded to the miner who solves the riddle first.
The bill was enacted by the State Assembly in April, and the Senate passed it late last week. The governor's office stated that she was still debating whether or not to approve the law.
"There is a balancing act involved here, very much a balancing act," the governor said in a statement.
"We have to balance protection of the environment, but also protecting the opportunity for jobs that go to areas that don't see a lot of activity, and making sure that the energy that's consumed by these entities is managed properly," she added.
The bill is part of the state's goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 85% by 2050.
According to the law, cryptocurrency mining activities "are an emerging industry in the State of New York" that "would considerably increase the quantity of energy consumption" in the state.
The bill would prohibit air permit issuance and renewal for an electric generating facility that uses a carbon-based fuel and supplies electricity to cryptocurrency mining operations to prevent cryptocurrency mining from increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
Source: NDTV Profit
