Residents of a U.S. community fear higher electricity costs from the world’s biggest Bitcoin mining plant
As cryptocurrencies grow in popularity, a growing number of people and organisations are electing to mine them, which sometimes elicits criticism from groups worried about the repercussions of this activity.
The Dallas Morning News reported on June 16 that the town of Corsicana in Navarro County, Texas, where Bitcoin (BTC) mining company Riot Blockchain is building the world’s largest crypto mining facility on a 265-acre property, is one of the communities where crypto mining may be challenged due to local opposition.
One of the world’s biggest Bitcoin mining businesses intends to power its facilities using a switch, a high-voltage transmission line. Riot Blockchain’s chief commercial officer, Chad Harris, explained why they chose this area to construct their facility.
“You have two really precious assets. You had the Navarro switch and water.” The new plant will have a maximum capacity of 1 gigawatt and will be 30 percent bigger than the company’s current facility in Rockdale. According to the article, this is sufficient to power between 300,000 and one million U.S. households and has been hailed as a significant economic development for the town.
Reasons for mining opposition
However, the news of the proposal has prompted opposition from certain communities. Their leader, Jackie Sawicky, voiced suspicion about the news, noting that:
“They announced it as if it were something for which we should be thankful. What do we receive in exchange for their exploitation of our resources?
Sawicky concurs that crypto-assets constitute a Ponzi scheme, as she explains: We cannot enter their business and purchase anything.
The organisation is worried about the amount of water the facility would require to cool its equipment during a time when the county is experiencing a drought. The probable rise in water and power rates is another issue.
For these reasons, they have created a Facebook group named “Concerned residents of Navarro County” and begun a petition titled “NO to Riot Bitcoin Mine in Navarro County,” which has received 635 signatures as of this writing.
However, according to the CCO of Riot Blockchain: “99.9 percent of the population is delighted.” In addition, he said that the site’s proprietor appreciated the notion of selling his property to them since they would offer hourly and salaried employees to the neighbourhood, paying between $15 and $35 per hour.
Notably, Finbold reported a few days earlier that a Bitcoin mining plant in Limestone, Tennessee, had shut down and relocated after the county’s commissioners authorised the settlement of a lawsuit brought in response to noise concerns from local homeowners.
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