British Columbia Suspends New Crypto Mining Operations

Josie Osborne, Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation stated that this decision was taken to ensure the preservation of clean energy for consumption by residents and businesses which will facilitate further employment and is way more environmentally sustainable. Osborne stated, that the electricity is meant to direct for “electric vehicles and heat pumps, and for businesses and industries that are undertaking electrification projects that reduce carbon emissions and generate jobs and economic opportunities.”

He also said:

Cryptocurrency mining consumes massive amounts of electricity to run and cool banks of high-powered computers 24/7/365, while creating very few jobs in the local economy.

Currently, BC Hydro supplies its service to a total of seven crypto-mining operations. Out of the seven operations, six are in the advanced stages of connection to the system which consumes a total of 273 megawatts. These operations, however, will not be affected.

New Crypto Mining Processes Shall Not Be Approved

At the moment, in total, 21 projects have requested a total of 1,403 megawatts (MV) in the province, which is equal to the energy needed by 570,000 homes or 2.1 million electric vehicles. The new crypto-mining projects, on the other hand, will be unable to begin the process of connecting with BC Hydro. Additionally, the projects that are in the early stages of the connection process will not be permitted to move ahead either.

Environmental activists have been concerned about the impacts of crypto mining on the environment. They have spoken against Bitcoin and its energy-intensive processing and energy expenditures. The energy consumption has even been compared to that of an entire country.

The Bitcoin network runs on the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, which takes up plenty of energy as Bitcoin miners have to compete to solve cryptographic puzzles that help to secure the blockchain while earning rewards for their efforts.