How bitcoin is keeping zombie power plants alive

Bitcoin mining today uses a half percent of the world's electricity. Every year, as more shipping containers and warehouses full of high-powered computers are deployed to unlock more bitcoin, energy use grows by double digits.

As bitcoin mining operations scramble to find new power sources, they’re often turning to aging coal or fossil gas plants that offer cheap electricity.

This week, we’ll take you to Seneca Lake, upstate New York, where a group of unlikely activists is fighting back against a “zombie” power plant that is now fueling a Bitcoin mine. 

What’s happening in Seneca Lake is not a one-off story. Across the nation, the companies that own dying, dirty power plants see cryptocurrency as a chance to extend their lives. Bitcoin mining is locking in fossil fuels – so what can we do about it?

Guests: Brian Kahn is the climate editor at Protocol. You can read his piece about the Greenidge power plant here.

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