Cryptocurrency mining company Greenidge Generation has filed a lawsuit against the New York Department of Environmental Protection to continue mining bitcoins at its Yates County power plant.
Greenidge Generation burns natural gas at the plant to run Bitcoin-generating machines. This process creates significant amounts of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.
In May, the DEC upheld two previous decisions to deny the company an air permit to operate because of its emissions. The DEC found that the plant’s operations did not comply with New York’s climate law, which requires the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030.
Now Greenidge Generation has sued the state above this decision. The company claims the DEC overreached and misapplied the climate law.
In a statement, Greenidge Generation President Dale Irwin said the company provides jobs and tax revenue for upstate New York while “achieving the state’s ambitious climate goals.”
“This is an important case for upstate New York: for working locals who have waited too long for the type of high-tech, high-paying career opportunities we continue to create,” Irwin said.
The case drew swift criticism from local environmental groups that had long advocated closing the facility. On Tuesday, attorneys representing the advocacy groups Seneca Lake Guardian, the Finger Lakes Conservation Committee, Fossil Free Tompkins and the Sierra Club filed a motion to intervene in this case. If granted, the groups will be able to participate in the proceedings.
“DEC has done right by Greenidge three times now,” said Lisa Perfetto, an attorney with the environmental law organization Earthjustice, which represents some of the groups. “We will continue to advocate for our clients to ensure that the permit denial remains in place.”
Assemblywoman Anna Keles, who represents Tompkins County, joined the groups at a virtual news conference Thursday. She said Greenidge Generation was trying to find legal loopholes to run the plant.
“Nothing in the science of the environmental impact has changed, which is why the DEC in its analysis has now said three times that nothing has changed,” Kelles said. The company “is not yet in compliance with our climate laws,” she added.
Greenidge Generation has been mining bitcoin at the Yates County power plant since 2019. Its current permit expires on September 9. But the company’s lawyer filed on Tuesday a request from the judge for a preliminary injunction to allow him to continue working as the case continues.
The first court hearing in the case is scheduled for September 3.