The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has delayed its decision whether it will allow Greenidge Generation to continue to use its power plant in the town of Dresden for bitcoin mining, Bloomberg reported.
The decision is now expected to come by March 31, two months later than originally planned, the report said.
The delay will help NYSDEC complete its review with public comments, Bloomberg said, citing a spokesperson.
The miner applied last year to renew its permits for the plant, the first time it has come up for renewal since the plant has been powering bitcoin mining operations.
On Jan. 16, Greenidge said that due to high electricity demand resulting from recent cold weather, the company temporarily curtailed its cryptocurrency mining operations in Dresden on Jan. 15 to supply all its electrical generation capacity to the New York Independent System Operator.
On Dec. 2, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) questioned the environmental footprint of Greenidge Generation’s (GREE) bitcoin mining operation in New York in a detailed letter. The senator later targeted six more crypto miners, questioning their energy usage.
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