Bitcoin mining company seeks to use tire fuel in its operations, and environmentalists are up in arms.
Stronghold Digital Mining, a Bitcoin mining company based in Pennsylvania, filed an application with the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to be allowed to burn tires to fuel the mining operation.
Reportedly, Stronghold seeks permission to produce up to 15% of the energy utilizing tires in the Panther Creek plant. The environmentalists oppose this proposal.
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Stronghold acquired the Panther Creek Power Plant in 2021. In its request, the company cited other cases where the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted permission to use tire-derived fuel as an energy source in industrial facilities.
However, environmentalists argue that tire burning might be detrimental to both the environment and people’s health.
An advocate with Clean Air Council, Russell Zerbo, stated:
Because [Panther Creek] uses the electricity it produces to generate cryptocurrency, rather than selling that electricity to the energy grid, the plant should be completely re-permitted as a solid waste incinerator that would be subject to increased air pollution monitoring requirements.
This is not the first time Stronghold has received criticism about its energy practices. In 2021, the company received some backlash for using coal refuse to fuel the mining efforts.
The comments directed at the company cited its self-proclaimed “emphasis on environmentally beneficial operations” while adding that mining already consumes great amounts of energy.
Recently, Stronghold announced it spent $3m to purchase 2,000 new, latest-generation A1346 Bitcoin miners, which should be delivered to the Panther Creek Facility.
Lately, crypto mining is not only becoming more popular, it’s also getting smarter. Earlier this month, Tether introduced innovative software to increase mining efficiency.
