Bitcoin Miners Revived a Dying Montana Coal Plant--and Emissions Soared
ENVIRONMENT
FEBRUARY 20, 2022
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OLIVER MILMAN
Environmentalists in Montana called it the “death watch.” Following years of financial losses, one of the handful of remaining coal-fired power plants in the state appeared doomed, its likely fate offering a small but noteworthy victory in the effort to avoid disastrous climate change. But then a bitcoin mining company stepped in to resurrect it.
The Hardin generating station, a 115-megawatt coal plant located a dozen miles from the historic site of the famous battle of Little Big Horn in southern Montana, was slated for closure in 2018 due to a lack of customers, only to somehow limp on, operating on just 46 days in 2020. “We were just waiting for this thing to die,” said Anne Hedges, co-director of the Montana Environmental Information Center. “They were struggling and looking to close. It was on the brink. And then this cryptocurrency company came along.”
In a deal struck in late 2020, Marathon, a bitcoin “mining” company, became the sole recipient of the power station’s electricity. It established an elongated data center on 20 acres of land beside the facility that is packed with more than 30,000 Antminer S19 units, a specialized computer that mines for bitcoin. Such thirst for power is common in crypto—globally, bitcoin mining consumes more electricity than Norway, a country of 5.3 million people.
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2022/02/marathon-bitcoin-miners-revive-dying-montana-hardin-coal-plant-co2-emissions/
And what really despicable is that Marathon is taking electricity out of A Texas windfarm.....that more then likely got start up money from the feds to build it....