After closing its Bitcoin mine due to pressure from residents, the town of Hadsel, Norway, expects each household to have to pay an additional $280/year on electricity bills, due to the loss of revenue from mining activities.
Hadsel, with a population of about 8,236, has been suffering from the noise from the Bitcoin mining center for years, which consumes about 80 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity a year, equivalent to the use of 3,200 households.
The shutdown of Bitcoin mining, which began the week of September 9, brought initial relief to residents. However, it resulted in a significant loss of revenue for electricity provider Noranett, leading to increased electricity bills to compensate for the shortfall.
According to Robin Jakobsen, Noranett's network manager, each household in Hadsel will face an additional electricity cost of 2,500 to 3,000 Norwegian kroner ($235 to $280), showing the clear economic impact of the Bitcoin mine closure.
Daniel Batten, a climate technology venture capitalist, said this is a good example of the argument that Bitcoin mining keeps electricity prices low for residents. He said that if mining continued, electricity prices in Hadsel would not have risen as high as they are now.
Hadsel Mayor Kjell-BĂžrge Freiberg said the town is looking for new projects to compensate for the drop in electricity consumption after the Bitcoin mining center closed. These projects would not only balance the revenue stream but also meet local energy needs.
The controversy over Bitcoin mining is not new in Norway. In September 2022, residents of Sortland, a neighboring municipality, also complained about noise from cryptocurrency mining.
