On: Plattsburgh, New York has imposed an 18-month moratorium on Bitcoin mining

[coding123]

So the truth is that people are using electric heaters instead of gas/oil based heating systems, and they are somehow blaming it on bitcoin mining?

Also shouldn't the law be written to specify any electricity usage over a certain wattage? I don't know anything about Plattsburg, NY but why would a local factory that uses 100 megawatts be more "allowed" to use electricity than a bitcoin miner?

What if the bitcoin miner (or any high-wattage business) sets up their own 1 MW solar array?

If the city has power deals that is bad for itself, why punish its residents with a law like this?

[sirclueless → coding123]

It sounds like a bandaid to paper over a poorly-conceived program of incentives while they work out something more permanent. They were using their power plant as a loss-leader to attract industry. Which explains why the local factory is "more allowed;" it's presumably because they expect the factory to generate more jobs and tax revenue than the bitcoin miner.

[ballenf → coding123]

Instead of a flat cap, a MWH per employee would likely align best with the city's stated goals.

[overcast → coding123]

No one in Plattsburgh, NY is setting up a solar array. It's winter for 9 months of the year.

[dwighttk → coding123]

>So the truth is that people are using electric heaters instead of gas/oil based heating systems, and they are somehow blaming it on bitcoin mining?

what?

>What if the bitcoin miner (or any high-wattage business) sets up their own 1 MW solar array?

Why would a business that moved to (or set up in) Plattsburg to take advantage of the 2¢/KWh rate build any sort of energy production?