Photo credit: Roger Brown
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
DL News reports that residents of Stokmarknes in northern Norway are glad that a noisy bitcoin mine closed. The facility had loud air cooling systems, making noise that local residents described as a “sawmill operating 24/7.” The closure was a result of the bitcoin mine’s operator, Kryptovault, declaring bankruptcy. Kryptovault accounted for 20% of a local energy company’s revenue, which is now raising electricity costs by 20% to make up for the shortage.
I was in Norway this summer hiking with my brothers. And, as I have explained in previous blog posts about electric ferries cruising across Norway’s fjords and electric tarmac equipment at Oslo Airport, the country is very quiet outside urban areas. I can only imagine how disruptive the Kryptovault facility was for those living in a town with fewer than 4,000 residents.
Writer Kyle Baird reports that in April the Norwegian government proposed regulations aimed at curbing the growth of energy-intensive data centers and bitcoin mines. “[Crypto-mining] is an example of a type of business we do not want in Norway,” said the Norwegian Energy Minister. And, it turns out that pretty much no one wants a data center nearby, as recently covered by Sean Patrick Cooper in The New York Times. Quiet Coalition’s Dr. Arline Bronzaft covered the article in a recent blog post.
Cooper reported that tech companies try to build new data centers in secret, even requiring local officials to sign nondisclosure agreements. These companies do so to avoid tipping off competitors and avoid community opposition. He also advocated for regulatory action to prohibit the use of NDAs, and institute audits to reveal impacts on energy bills, water and noise pollution. At least in Norway, where more than 90% of electricity is produced from renewable sources, the data centers’ energy needs are not contributing to climate change. That isn’t true elsewhere.
Data centers are necessary, but bitcoin mines certainly aren’t. I agree with the many commentators who note that bitcoin is largely used for criminal purposes, and serves no useful economic need. Banning bitcoin mines will improve financial safety, reduce climate change by lowering energy use and help keep communities quiet. The U.S. should follow Norway’s example and ban bitcoin mines here. A quieter world, using less energy, will be a better and healthier world for all.
