British Columbia to halt new power connections for crypto miners

A state-owned electrical inferior supplier successful the Canadian state of British Columbia is acceptable to halt each caller electricity-connection requests from cryptocurrency miners for a play of 18 months. 

The British Columbia authorities made the announcement successful a statement on Dec. 21 stating that the intermission volition let the authorities and BC Hydro to make a imperishable model that tin amended equilibrium the needs of crypto miners and some its residents and businesses successful the region.

Josie Osborne, Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation said that the determination was made to sphere the cleanable vigor it provides for its residents and businesses that make jobs and are more environmentally friendly.

“Cryptocurrency mining consumes monolithic amounts of energy to tally and chill banks of high-powered computers 24/7/365, portion creating precise fewer jobs successful the section economy.”

At the moment, BC Hydro provides work to 7 crypto-mining operations. Six much are successful the precocious stages of transportation to the system, totaling 273 megawatts — these are not expected to beryllium impacted.

However, caller cryptocurrency mining projects volition not beryllium capable to initiate the process of transportation with BC Hydro, and projects astatine the aboriginal stages of the transportation process volition besides beryllium halted, it said, adding that determination are 21 cryptocurrency mining projects that are presently requesting a full of 1,403 megawatts of electricity.

The Ministry noted that this is equivalent to the vigor needed to powerfulness astir 570,000 homes oregon 2.1 cardinal electrical vehicles per twelvemonth successful the province.

Related: BTC vigor usage jumps 41% successful 12 months, expanding regulatory risk

The British Columbia hydro and powerfulness authorization released a report successful Dec. 2022 titled Crypto conundrum, wherever it warned that an “unprecedented level” of requests for cryptocurrency mining operations could perchance strain the disposable vigor proviso and pb to higher energy rates for residents of B.C. It noted:

“BC Hydro’s disposable vigor could beryllium challenged by cryptocurrency mining operations, which could mean little vigor for greener pursuits specified arsenic electrification oregon hydrogen production, and higher energy rates for British Columbians.”

Statista reported that successful aboriginal 2022, Bitcoin’s annualized energy depletion reached a grounds high, estimated to beryllium higher than Finland’s full powerfulness consumption, astatine an estimated “204.5 TWh per year.”

New York precocious imposed a moratorium connected proof-of-work (PoW) mining, becoming the archetypal US authorities to bash so, prohibiting immoderate caller mining operations that aren’t based connected 100% renewable energy.