> Private-equity firm revives zombie fossil-fuel power plant to mine bitcoin
Yeah, my comments on this are at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27450889. Either they're dumb or they're pulling some scam I'm not wise to.
> illicit coal extraction
Yeah, if you steal your energy it can even be cheaper than any energy you have to pay for. But then you get "authorities deciding to act," which really limits your scalability.
Really now?
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/05/private-equity-f...:
> Private-equity firm revives zombie fossil-fuel power plant to mine bitcoin
> Few bitcoin projects illustrate the cryptocurrency’s enormous climate impact better than the Greenidge power plant in upstate New York. The once-abandoned power plant was bought by private equity firm Atlas Holdings and retasked. A significant portion of Greenidge's electricity no longer powers nearby homes or businesses; rather, the plant's smokestacks are increasingly pouring pollutants into the atmosphere in the service of mining bitcoin.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-26/china-s-c...:
> China’s Crypto Mining Crackdown Followed Deadly Coal Accidents
> China’s escalating push to rein in cryptocurrency mining was triggered in part by concern that the practice has stoked a surge in illicit coal extraction, endangering lives and undermining Xi Jinping’s ambitious environmental goals.
> Authorities decided to act after concluding the spike in electricity consumption from server farms underpinning Bitcoin and other tokens was a key factor behind rising demand for coal in certain parts of China, according to a person who participated in high-level government meetings on the issue and asked not to be identified discussing private information.