Mining farms for Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies are increasingly being installed in energy plants, renewable or not, to use the energy extracted directly in cryptocurrency mining. But this has its risks, as has happened to a mining power plant that will be fined 7,1 million for trying to operate illegally to mine Bitcoin in Canada.
CBC reported that Link Global installed four 1,25 MW generators powered by a dormant natural gas well in 2020, and did so without notifying county residents or the Alberta Public Utilities Commission. Generators were also set up at two other sites in other locations, and only one of them was compliant with regulations.
Illegal power plants to mine Bitcoin in Canada
Link Global had plans to establish three 10 MW cryptocurrency mining facilities such as Bitcoin in Alberta, Canada, by the end of this year. They plan to send a response to the authorities in an attempt to reduce the fines. They also hope to relocate one of the plants and resume operations at the Kirkwall facility after solving the problem.
The CEO of Link Global announced that they plan to follow the laws, and make the necessary changes to operate within the framework of legality. In their words, they plan to respect the environment, people and relevant laws in order to continue their operations.
Its high energy consumption and the fact that electricity generating companies divert resources that should go to the population is a constant criticism that the cryptocurrency ecosystem is receiving. There are promises that 100% renewable energy can be used, but even if that were, it would not eliminate the fact of the energy diversion of resources on which millions of people depend, since if a solar farm diverts a part of energy to Cryptocurrency mining is energy that nearby towns and cities do not enjoy and cannot reserve for when they need it.
Source: Tom's Hardware
