What's the scoop with cryptocurrency and how Missoula County has tackled the issues around this industry?
Feb. 2021. Missoula's Board of County Commissioners established permanent zoning regulations for data centers and the cryptocurrency industry. We're grateful they recognize the imperative of meeting our clean electricity goals. Cryptocurrency mining operations in the unincorporated portions of Missoula County have been subject to zoning regulations since April 2019. These regulations are aimed at addressing adverse impacts generated by data centers and cryptocurrency mining operations, such as noise pollution, electronic waste disposal, and climate change impacts resulting from high energy consumption.
The key elements of the zoning regulations include:
For more see information on the county website.
See also this Missoula Current article Missoula County clamps down on crypto mining; requires 100% new renewable power
BRIEF HISTORY
January 11, 2021: Missoula's Consolidated Planning Board votes in favor of the permanent zoning regulations.
March 2020. Missoula's Board of County Commissioners (BCC) passed a renewal of the emergency interim zoning regulations (first adopted in April 2019) for cryptocurrency operations. This can be a complicated issue and the best way to understand this is to read the County Commissioner's excellent opinion piece from 2019: Missoula County commissioners explain new cryptocurrency mining regulations. It's in plain English and very useful! There is great information on the County's website.
Background on cryptocurrency in Missoula: Following an evaluation process and two public hearings in 2018, the Missoula BCC adopted interim zoning regulations that place requirements on the energy-intensive cryptocurrency industry (such as bitcoin), including requiring facilities to offset their energy use with NEW renewable energy sources.
THE LOW-DOWN ON CRYPTOCURRENCY
These operations, which consume heaps and heaps of energy, are looking to Missoula County in order to exploit our relatively cool climate and low-cost electricity. The main reasons the County is concerned are 1) greenhouse gas emissions, 2) noise, and 3) electronic waste. Facilities can disrupt neighborhoods with their noisy operations, increase electricity rates due to costly infrastructure upgrades, and set back efforts to mitigate climate change by consuming obscene amounts of dirty fossil fuel energy - or simply using vast amounts of existing clean energy, forcing other would-be consumers of that clean energy to other not so clean sources. These issues will worsen if more facilities flood in.
In 2018 the Missoula BCC initiated a process to evaluate cryptocurrency impacts and possible ways to address them. There was an initial public hearing in June (see articles in the Missoula Current, Missoulian, and Independent) and a second hearing in September (here's a recap in the Missoulian). Head to the County's WEB PAGE for more.
For more about cryptocurrency and Bitcoin, including what they are and the climate change problems they create, see these articles. The County's web page also links to numerous articles and even YouTube videos about block chain.
See also:
Feb. 2021. Missoula's Board of County Commissioners established permanent zoning regulations for data centers and the cryptocurrency industry. We're grateful they recognize the imperative of meeting our clean electricity goals. Cryptocurrency mining operations in the unincorporated portions of Missoula County have been subject to zoning regulations since April 2019. These regulations are aimed at addressing adverse impacts generated by data centers and cryptocurrency mining operations, such as noise pollution, electronic waste disposal, and climate change impacts resulting from high energy consumption.
The key elements of the zoning regulations include:
- Authorization of data centers & cryptocurrency operations as conditional or special uses in areas zoned C-I1 (Light Industry) and C-I2 (Heavy Industry);
- Development or purchase of sufficient new renewable energy to offset 100% of the electricity consumed by the cryptocurrency mine; and,
- Verification that all electronic waste generated at the facility will be handled by a DEQ‑licensed electronic waste recycling firm.
For more see information on the county website.
See also this Missoula Current article Missoula County clamps down on crypto mining; requires 100% new renewable power
BRIEF HISTORY
January 11, 2021: Missoula's Consolidated Planning Board votes in favor of the permanent zoning regulations.
March 2020. Missoula's Board of County Commissioners (BCC) passed a renewal of the emergency interim zoning regulations (first adopted in April 2019) for cryptocurrency operations. This can be a complicated issue and the best way to understand this is to read the County Commissioner's excellent opinion piece from 2019: Missoula County commissioners explain new cryptocurrency mining regulations. It's in plain English and very useful! There is great information on the County's website.
Background on cryptocurrency in Missoula: Following an evaluation process and two public hearings in 2018, the Missoula BCC adopted interim zoning regulations that place requirements on the energy-intensive cryptocurrency industry (such as bitcoin), including requiring facilities to offset their energy use with NEW renewable energy sources.
THE LOW-DOWN ON CRYPTOCURRENCY
These operations, which consume heaps and heaps of energy, are looking to Missoula County in order to exploit our relatively cool climate and low-cost electricity. The main reasons the County is concerned are 1) greenhouse gas emissions, 2) noise, and 3) electronic waste. Facilities can disrupt neighborhoods with their noisy operations, increase electricity rates due to costly infrastructure upgrades, and set back efforts to mitigate climate change by consuming obscene amounts of dirty fossil fuel energy - or simply using vast amounts of existing clean energy, forcing other would-be consumers of that clean energy to other not so clean sources. These issues will worsen if more facilities flood in.
In 2018 the Missoula BCC initiated a process to evaluate cryptocurrency impacts and possible ways to address them. There was an initial public hearing in June (see articles in the Missoula Current, Missoulian, and Independent) and a second hearing in September (here's a recap in the Missoulian). Head to the County's WEB PAGE for more.
For more about cryptocurrency and Bitcoin, including what they are and the climate change problems they create, see these articles. The County's web page also links to numerous articles and even YouTube videos about block chain.
See also:
- BBC: How Bitcoins energy use could burst its bubble.
- New York Times: There is nothing virtual about Bitcoin’s energy appetite
- Grist: Bitcoin could cost us our clean-energy future
- Listen to the Reveal Podcast FROM 2022 - MEIC's Anne Hedges talks about how bitcoin is keeping a coal mine in eastern Montana open.
