Residents of Stokmarknes, a town in northern Norway, have been trying to wipe out their community. Bitcoin Bitcoin
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A mining facility was closed for three years after complaints about noise from its cooling fans.
According to local news agency NRK, on Friday they celebrated the closure of the site managed by KryptoVault. The municipality of Hadsel, which includes the town, initially approved the facility but failed to renew the permit after the company’s temporary permit expired. KryptoVault is reported to have gone bankrupt in September 2023, but the Stokmarknes site remained in operation until it was shut down last week.
“It’s already been decided. We are very, very happy in Hadsel,” Mayor Kjell-Børge Freiberg told NRK, according to a translated version of the report. “The noise problem in the area has made things difficult for many people. But as the saying goes, after every sweet comes the bitter,” Mayor Freiberg added.
Critics of Bitcoin mining often highlight the energy consumption and noise pollution generated by mining facilities. In April, the Stockmarknes mine was shut down under proposed regulations by the Norwegian government to identify and curb data centers and cryptocurrency mines.
Mining cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin is very energy-intensive, requiring powerful computers to solve complex calculations for rewards. The facility near Stockmarknes reportedly consumed around 80 GWh per year, equivalent to 3,200 average households. The facility’s 24-hour air conditioning fans were the cause of noise complaints. Despite efforts to implement various noise-reduction measures, they were much louder than liquid-cooled alternatives. “We had to close our windows at night to sleep,” local resident Harald Martin Eilertsen, who lives 250 metres from the facility, said in August. “People are going crazy, angry, and desperate because of this.”
However, Bitcoin mining proponents argue that it offers significant benefits, especially in areas with isolated or unused energy that would otherwise go to waste. Mining facilities can stabilize the grid by utilizing this excess energy and acting as a variable load. This helps absorb excess electricity during periods of low demand, ultimately reducing energy waste and lowering costs for other consumers. In Texas, for example, Bitcoin miners have been credited with helping lower electricity prices by spreading fixed grid costs over a wider base and providing demand flexibility.
unintended consequences
Stockmarknes residents probably didn’t expect their energy bills to skyrocket as the local power company, Noranet, tries to recoup lost revenue from the power plant closure.
KryptoVault is Noranett’s largest customer, accounting for about 20% of the energy provider’s revenue. According to NRK, Robin Jakobsen, Noranett’s network manager, said that without that revenue stream and variable load benefits, local residents’ bills could rise by more than 20% next month.
Jacobsen estimates that the typical household will pay 12,000 to 13,000 kroner ($1,131 to $1,226) a year in electricity costs, and after the adjustment, that will be 2,500 to 3,000 kroner ($236 to $283) more per year.
“We have to deal with it,” Mayor Freiberg told NRK. “That’s how our energy system is regulated, it’s outside of municipal control.”
The market said the municipality is looking for new projects to use the electricity left after the data center closures, but it is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon. “This is definitely an opportunity for the municipality, and it makes us more attractive. But we want industries that create value, so no one should think we want another data center.”
For some, it may be a cost they are willing to pay to avoid noise. For others, it is an unintended consequence of adding to the strain on households in an era of higher living costs.
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