"Stronghold Digital Mining contends it is repurposing waste material, but those living near by are outraged by the proposal".
"A crypto-mining company in Pennsylvania is seeking to burn tires to produce bitcoin, prompting an outcry from residents and environmental groups.
Stronghold Digital Mining says it is repurposing waste materials, while opponents worry about the risks of emissions to human health.
The production of cryptocurrency is an enormously energy-intensive process. Its electricity consumption accounts for an estimated 113 terawatt-hours a year, which is roughly the amount of electricity that countries such as Kazakhstan, the Philippines and Ukraine each used in 2022.
Stronghold has been burning coal waste to create cheap power for cryptocurrency since 2021, when it bought the Panther Creek power plant in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania. It is a controversial approach because although the removal of coal waste can help remediate contaminated land, the process emits greenhouse gases and other harmful chemicals. It can take twice as much waste coal to produce the same amount of electricity that regular coal would produce."
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