Hydro-Québec Turns Down New Cryptocurrency Mining Project Applications
The Canadian province of Quebec has temporarily halted the approval of new cryptocurrency mining operations.
Hydro-Quebec, a public utility that manages the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in the region, said that although it has a large volume of electricity to meet the different needs of customers in the territory, it will not be able to accept all mining applicants.
Hydro-Quebec had received about 100 demands from cryptocurrency entrepreneurs totalling 10,000 megawatts of power. That represents one-quarter of Hydro-Quebec’s total capacity, which is estimated at 40,000 megawatts. The utility said it will not be able to supply the totality of the installations targeted by the projects which have been presented to it.
Hydro-Quebec said that officials are now working to develop guidelines to determine which of the projects received in the blockchain sector can be accepted, as well as the tariffs and conditions applicable to this sector. Once these guidelines are complete, they will begin considering applications again.
Pierre Moreau, Quebec’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, stated that crypto mining projects require a lot of energy, but only generate a small number of jobs when compared to other factories, such as those which refine aluminum.
“The objective of government is to insure to all Quebecois that during winter, Hydro-Quebec doesn’t say, ‘Well, excuse me, I cannot provide [energy] because we’re in the middle of mining cryptocurrency,’ ” said Moreau.
In addition, Brome-Missisquoi, a regional county municipality in the Montérégie region of Quebec, imposed a three-month ban that prohibits the creation and expansion of data mining centers in the region. The motion was approved unanimously by mayors of the Brome-Missisquoi MRC Council.
Robert Desmarais, director general of the MRC, said during the period the council will think about adopting a rule to better formulate construction permits for these types of businesses in their territory. He added that the moratorium could be extended to allow the council to consult experts on how to legislate the issue.
“These centers occupy quite large spaces, create few jobs, have an extremely high demand for electricity, and cause noise pollution, because it takes extremely strong fans to remove the heat that is generated by the computers in the warehouses,” Desmarais said. “At this moment, the council doesn’t see positive social, economic, or environmental benefits from that kind of business,” said Desmarais.
