Residents of Hadsel, a Norwegian municipality that pushed for the closure of a local bitcoin mine, are facing higher electricity bills due to reduced revenue for the local power company.
“When politicians gaslight Bitcoin, people suffer,” climate tech venture capitalist Daniel Batten said on September 13 at Xinhua News. post In response to the news.
Hadsell residents say noise is disrupting their lives
Mayor Hadsell, Kelboege Freiberg; said The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) reported on September 13 that noise from a Bitcoin (BTC) mining center is bothering many residents of the municipality of Hadsel. Hadsel has a population of about 8,236, according to the municipal demographics office. data.
Operations at the mine were suspended the week of September 9. Although many residents who had campaigned for its closure for several years were initially happy, the closure of the mine, which accounts for about 20 percent of electricity supplier Noranet's revenue, means local electricity bills will rise to make up for the lost income.
“When you have that many residential customers turning off power overnight, it has an impact,” said Robin Jacobsen, network manager at Noranet.
He estimated that after the adjustments, the average Hadsel household could face extra costs of 2,500-3,000 Norwegian kroner per year (equivalent to about US$235-280).
Batten argued that this is “another example of how Bitcoin mining is helping keep electricity bills low for ordinary people.”
The data center consumes approximately 80 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity per year, equivalent to the annual consumption of approximately 3,200 homes.
Freiberg said the town will explore new projects to make up for the loss of electricity consumption caused by the mining center's closure.
Noise complaints about Bitcoin mining machines in Norway
This is not the first time complaints have been filed about bitcoin mining facilities in Norway.
In September 2022, Cointelegraph reported that residents of Solland, another municipality in Norway, were complaining about noise from bitcoin mining activities in their area.
Related: Bitcoin miner singlehandedly solves block and wins $180,000 reward
Kjetil Hove Pettersen, CEO of local cryptovault, explained that this could be another spin stunt by the media targeting Bitcoin.
“It's usually the negative comments that get the most media attention. This doesn't reflect all local opinion,” Pettersen said.
Meanwhile, a bill imposing noise restrictions on cryptocurrency mining farms has been passed in the US state of Arkansas. The bill is currently before Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who has indicated her intention to sign the bill into law.
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