NYS DEC, Greenidge Generation Reach Settlement; DEC Will Issue Title V Air Permit | State
DRESDEN, NY (WENY) — A years-long legal battle regarding the draft permit application for a Title V air permit for a cryptocurrency mining operation in Yates County appears to be over.
Greenidge Generation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation have reached a settlement regarding Greenidge’s Title V Air permit renewal application. The company, located in Dresden in Yates County, operates Bitcoin miners using “behind the meter” power from its gas-powered electric generating facility. Additional power generated at the facility is sold into the electric grid.
Under the terms of the agreement, the NYS DEC will issue a final Title V permit modification and renewal for the facility, after the appropriate public process.
Greenidge applied for a renewal of its five-year Title V air permit in 2021. The application was denied in 2022, with the DEC stating “renewal of the Title V permit would be inconsistent with or would interfere with the attainment of the Statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emission limits established in Article 75 of the Environmental Conservation Law (ECL)” based on the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CPCLA), that went into effect in 2020.
In 2024, filed suit seeking to overturn the DEC’s denial of the air permit application. The settlement dictates Greenidge will discontinue its appeal.
Additionally as part of the settlement, the permit will require a 44% reduction in permitted emissions by 2030, exceeding the goals set by the CLCPA, and a 25% reduction in actual emissions in that same time frame. According to Greenidge Generation, the 25% condition marks the first of its kind in a Title V air permit renewal in New York State.
During these past four years, the company has been allowed to continue electric and cryptomining operations as the matter regarding the air permit renewal application was reviewed by the NYS DEC and courts.
YA Yates County Supreme Court judge has issued an order in a suit filed by cryptocurrency mining operation Greenidge Generation, against the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
The Greenidge facility has also been the subject of legal action by environmental agencies and organizations, alleging the facility’s operations violate the state’s CLCPA, and that discharges into Keuka Lake violate the Clean Water Act. All court rulings have ultimately been in favor of Greenidge.
The Dresden facility was purchased by Greenidge in 2016 and converted from a former coal-fired plant to a natural gas facility, beginning electricity production for the local grid in 2017. The company later added a behind-the-meter cryptocurrency datacenter that uses electricity produced at the site and, according to Greenidge, does not burden the local grid. The company said it has invested more than $100 million in the facility and now accounts for nearly 10% of Yates County’s local tax revenues.
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