New York state partially bans cryptocurrency mining powered by fossil fuels

moneycontrol.com:

New York has become the first state in the US to temporarily ban new permits for fossil fuel plants that power cryptocurrency mining, which is an energy-intensive exercise. Crypto mining is the process used in the transaction of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum.

Signed by re-elected New York Governor Kathy Hochul on November 22, the new law imposes a two-year moratorium on coal plants that house proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining and aims to “balance economic development and climate goals”, Politico reported.

It does not affect companies that have already filed paperwork to operate in New York.

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New York is an attractive destination for crypto miners due to the availability of unused infrastructure from former coal power plants and manufacturing units. But Hochul, who ran for office on climate change as an issue, is keen to steer the state towards a more environment-friendly path.

Democratic representative from Buffalo, NY, Hochul was re-elected on November 8. In the law’s memo, she said as the “first governor from upstate New York in nearly a century, I recognize the importance of creating economic opportunity in communities that have been left behind”.

“I am signing this legislation into law to build on New York’s nation-leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, the most aggressive climate and clean energy law in the nation, while also continuing our steadfast efforts to support economic development and job creation in upstate New York,” she wrote.

Under the new law, the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation will also study the impact of crypto mining on the