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- 1 A U.S. state regulator has taken quite a “bold step against crypto mining.
- 2 The state regulator recently rejected a “crypto mining subsidy.”
Kentucky’s regulator denied a proposed contract that would have green-signaled a crypto mining firm to get a discounted rate on electricity facilities by the power company. The Public Service Commission (PSC) of the state of Kentucky has denied a proposed contract with the Kentucky Power Company. This would have allowed Ebon International to receive a discounted rate for service at its crypto mining facility over a decade.
The Denial of A Crypto Mining Subsidy
According to the official PSC order released on August 28, 2023, PSC “denied a contract between Ebon International and the Kentucky Power Company.” This contract further involved “a $50 Million investment in a crypto mining facility in the city of Louisa.”
Additionally, Ebon planned to run a 100-megawatt (MW) mining operation until 2024. It will then increase the load to 250 MW, as further mentioned in the order. The proposed contract also added about which were partially redacted. It further included Kentucky Power providing Ebon a discounted rate for service over 10 years.
Last year in December, the PSC announced that it planned to review the deal between Ebon and Kentucky Power. However, some environmental groups such as Earthjustice and Greenpeace are praising the PSC’s decision as a victory for average energy consumers in the state.
Joshua Archer, the Bitcoin campaign lead for Greenpeace USA, claimed that “incentivizing crypto mining firms to set up shop in the state would have burdened taxpayers and contributed to climate change.”
It must be noted that the state of Kentucky is one of the leading Bitcoin mining hubs in the United States, alongside Texas, Georgia, and New York. However, the environmental organizations from these places have pushed for restrictions and bans on crypto mining.
Their efforts seem like resulting in “New York signing a Proof-of-Work (PoW) mining moratorium into law in November 2022 and a bill removing incentives for miners making it through the Texas Senate in April.”
As reported by Greenpeace USA on August 31, 2023, in the U.S., the crypto or Bitcoin mining companies have tried “to make families foot the bill for Bitcoin’s enormous energy consumption.”
Whereas PSC’s recent decision to reject “a crypto mining subsidy sends a powerful message that the needs of average energy consumers are more important than crypto profits.”
On the other hand, on September 1, 2023, Infinity Hash, a BTC mining community, shared an X (formerly Twitter) post. As per its post, “University of Cambridge shows that Bitcoin mining uses less energy than U.S. tumble dryers! A win for the Bitcoin community, and more reason to believe in the sustainability of our mining project. Let’s continue innovating for a greener future!”
Steve Anderson is an Australian crypto enthusiast. He is a specialist in management and trading for over 5 years. Steve has worked as a crypto trader, he loves learning about decentralisation, understanding the true potential of the blockchain.
