An Iowa county has put plans to build a bitcoin mining facility on hold after a town meeting gave over 100 residents the opportunity to share their concerns.
What's happening?
According to KIMT News 3 in Iowa, the Mitchell County Board of Adjustment held a meeting regarding the construction of a new bitcoin mining facility and faced backlash from the community.
"I hope the board considers the impact this will have on our community, the impact it will have on our animals," one resident said, per the news outlet. Others cited concerns about noise and the facility's placement near Osage's middle and high schools.
Ultimately, the County Board decided to table discussions of building the new facility, which would have featured 10 8-foot by 40-foot containers and used 12 megawatts of power, enough to power about 4,200 homes, according to the news report (or possibly many more, depending on estimates of an average home's use).
Why is bitcoin mining important?
Bitcoin mining has become one of the most significant uses of power in the world. According to a report from the International Energy Agency, cryptocurrencies overall used about 0.4% of all global annual electricity demand as of 2022 — a significant amount for such a specific industry.
While bitcoin's value recently broke the $100,000 mark, the mining of the cryptocurrency can have a profound impact on the environment and people around the facilities where it is mined.
A recent United Nations report detailed that bitcoin mining consumes a "worrying" amount of water and land, along with significant power, and often in areas where that water could be better used in other ways. Because of the amount of energy it uses, it can rely heavily on oil and natural gas for power, pumping more planet-warming carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
As a counterpoint, some analysts have indicated that bitcoin could have positive environmental benefits — arguing that the cryptocurrency's high energy demands have recently increased innovation and investment in clean energy.
In Iowa specifically, the relatively affordable cost of energy — much of which is provided by wind power — has seen a boom in mining facilities being constructed there.
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What's being done about bitcoin mining?
Mining for cryptocurrency has come under increased scrutiny and is facing an increasing amount of pushback. While there is some debate, scientists recently sounded warnings about its growth, calling it "an environmental waste."
Residents in Texas have filed suit against a mining operation, stating it has undermined residents' quality of life. And in Japan, the country's largest power company has been pushing green energy onto bitcoin mining operations, in the hopes of reducing its environmental impact.
In Iowa, it's not clear what the future of the potential facility will be; while discussions have been tabled, they'll likely be picked up at a later date, and the facility could still be built despite residents' concerns.
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