Greenidge miner sues NY regulator for refusing to renew license

What’s new? Bitcoin mining company Greenidge Generation with a capitalization of $ 21,04 million appealed to the Supreme Court of the State of New York in connection with the refusal of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to issue a license. Thus, the regulator rejected the miner's application for renewal of a permit to operate its data center and power plant in the town of Dresden, New York.

Statement of claim

What else is known? The first time the miner was rejected back in June 2022, then the regulator cited non-compliance with the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). The document, which came into effect in July 2019, aims to combat climate change and gradually achieve zero emissions in New York State.

In response, Greenidge Generation filed an appeal, but it was dismissed in May of this year. The company was granted a grace period to continue operating under the current permit, which expires on September 8.

In a new statement of claim, Greenidge Generation calls the DEC's decision “arbitrary.” According to the plaintiff, the regulator abused its authority and violated the Public Utilities Commission's jurisdiction over electric generating facilities.

Greenidge Generation believes the denial of the license renewal is due to the company's involvement in the mining industry and ignores its role in powering the grid, as well as creating jobs and tax payments that add to the county's budget.

According to Greenidge's website, the Dresden facility feeds clean energy into New York City's system, which has powered up to 20 000 homes and businesses by 2020. If the license application is denied, it will be forced to cease operations as early as September 9.

The Dresden farm is an important part of Greenidge's operations: the company uses it to generate electricity, mine bitcoins, and provide computing power rental services. The company also has operations in South Carolina, Mississippi and North Dakota.

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Earlier, the company also published its Q2 report, where it reported revenues of $13,1 million, of which $4,8 million came from mining and $6,6 million from hosting services. The company also earned $1,5 million from power services.

Overall, Greenidge has earned $32,4 million since the beginning of the year. As CEO Jordan Kovler noted, during Q2 the company cut BTC mining and other operating costs, expanded its energy capacity and started building new sites to host its own miners.

Greenidge ranks 21st in terms of capitalization among mining companies. Its shares under the ticker GREE are traded on Nasdaq at $1,95, having added 2% over the day. At the same time, the value of securities fell by 37% during the month, and the decline since the beginning of the year amounted to 77%.

In November 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order to partially ban mining. Within two years, it is forbidden to build new mining farms that use non-renewable energy sources.