According to Cointelegraph, after a Bitcoin mine in the Norwegian city of Hadsel was forced to close by the local government due to noise problems, the power company's revenue was damaged as a result, and local residents may face 2,500 to 3,000 Norwegian kroner per year as a result. electricity bills increased. Climate tech venture capitalist Daniel Batten commented in an X tweet on September 13:
“When politicians make misleading accusations about Bitcoin, it’s the people who ultimately suffer.”
Yet another datapoint showing how Bitcoin mining keeps power prices lower for everyday people. Brad Jones, the grid operator in Texas said the same thing.The peer review research says the same thing. When politicians gaslight Bitcoin, the people suffer. https://t.co/j8ySlP9KnJ
— Daniel Batten (@DSBatten) September 14, 2024
Hadesel Mayor Kjell-Børge Freiberg said in an interview with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) on September 13 that local residents had repeatedly protested to the local government, saying that the noise problem from the Bitcoin mine disrupted their daily life. Life, according to City Population data, Hadsell has a population of approximately 8,236 people. The Bitcoin mine was eventually shut down the week of September 9 at the request of the local government.
While many residents are happy with the closure after years of protests, the mine accounts for about 20% of local electricity distributor Noranett's revenue and consumes about 80 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity annually, equivalent to about 3,200 homes. Annual electricity consumption. This means local electricity rates will increase after the mine closes to make up for lost revenue. Noranett Grid Manager Robin Jakobsen said:
"When an individual customer on such a large scale ceases operations overnight, it's bound to have an impact."
He estimates that after adjustments, the average household in Hadesel could see an increase in costs of NOK 2,500 to NOK 3,000 per year (equivalent to about $235 to $280).
Mayor Freiberg said the city will look for new projects to make up for reduced power consumption after the mine closes.
However, this is not the first case of complaints against Bitcoin mining facilities in Norway. In September 2022, residents of Sortland, another Norwegian town, also complained about the noise from local Bitcoin mining activities.
Meanwhile, Arkansas in the United States recently passed a bill to impose noise restrictions on cryptocurrency mines. The bill is being sent to Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders for approval, and it is reported that she has said she will sign it into law.
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