A cryptocurrency firm has lost a bid to force BC Hydro to provide the vast amounts of power needed for its operations, upholding the provincial governmentB次元官网网址檚 right to pause power connections for new crypto miners.
Conifex Timber Inc., a forestry firm that branched out into cryptocurrency mining, had gone to the B.C. Supreme Court to have the policy declared invalid.
But Justice Michael Tammen ruled Friday that the governmentB次元官网网址檚 move in December 2022 to pause new connections for cryptocurrency mining for 18 months was B次元官网网址渞easonableB次元官网网址� and not B次元官网网址渦nduly discriminatory.B次元官网网址�
BC Hydro CEO Christopher OB次元官网网址橰iley had told the court in an affidavit that the data centres proposed by Conifex would have consumed 2.5 million megawatt-hours of electricity each year.
ThatB次元官网网址檚 enough to power and heat more than 570,000 apartments, according to data on the power providerB次元官网网址檚 website.
Energy Minister Josie Osborne said when the policy was introduced that cryptocurrency mining consumes B次元官网网址渕assive amounts of electricityB次元官网网址� by running high-powered computers around the clock, but adds B次元官网网址渧ery few jobsB次元官网网址� to the local economy.
In a statement released Monday, the company said itB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渄isappointedB次元官网网址� with the courtB次元官网网址檚 ruling and is mulling an appeal.
B次元官网网址淐onifex continues to believe that the provincial government is missing out on several opportunities available to it to improve energy affordability, accelerate technological innovation, strengthen the reliability and resiliency of the power distribution grid in British Columbia, and achieve more inclusive economic growth,B次元官网网址� the statement said.
Before the provincial government paused new power connections for cryptocurrency miners, BC Hydro released a report outlining the B次元官网网址渃onundrumB次元官网网址� they represent to the utility provider.
The report said power demand from cryptocurrency mining operations would challenge clean energy and electrification goals as adoption of things such as electric vehicles and heat pumps increase.
The report said bitcoin mining requires enough energy to power B次元官网网址渁 small country,B次元官网网址� and moratoriums on crypto mining in China, Algeria and some U.S. states B次元官网网址渃reated a significant increase in demand for power in B.C. by cryptocurrency mining operations.B次元官网网址�
The court ruling said connection requests over the last few years from cryptocurrency miners in B.C. B次元官网网址渇ar exceededB次元官网网址� BC HydroB次元官网网址檚 projections.
It said the pause ordered by the government was in response to B次元官网网址渢he very real prospect that devoting such a large proportion of the available electrical power supply to one industry would leave less energy for other uses which might result in increased costs to all other residential and industry customers in B.C.B次元官网网址�
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