New York denies permit renewal for bitcoin mining company, calling it threat to state's climate goals

Albany, N.Y. — New York officials denied required air permit renewals Thursday to a bitcoin-mining power plant on the grounds that it was a threat to the state's climate goals.

The permitting decision was another example of New York putting the brakes on a cryptocurrency bonanza that has alarmed environmentalists. It also comes at a time when cryptocurrency prices have plunged, wiping out fortunes, fueling skepticism and sparking calls for tighter scrutiny.

The state's permitting decision involved Greenidge Generation, an old coal-fired plant by the shore of Seneca Lake that had once been shut down, but was converted from coal to natural gas several years ago and began bitcoin mining in earnest in 2020.