The Noranett network manager predicts that the average household in Hadsel may incur an additional annual expense of $280 USD as a result of the Bitcoin mining closure.
Residents of Hadsel, a Norwegian municipality, who advocated for the closure of a nearby Bitcoin mine, are currently experiencing an increase in their electricity expenses as a result of the local power company’s diminished revenue.
“The people suffer when legislators gaslight Bitcoin,” opined Climate tech venture capitalist Daniel Batten in a Sept. 13 X post following the news.
According to City Population data, Hadsel has a population of approximately 8,236 individuals. On September 13, Mayor Kjell-Børge Freiberg informed the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) that the commotion emanating from the Bitcoin mining center was causing significant disturbances among the inhabitants of the town.
Sept. 9 marked the closure of the operation. Local electricity bills will increase to compensate for the lost revenue, despite the fact that many residents were initially delighted with the mine’s closure after years of campaigning to close it. The mine’s closure represents approximately 20% of the income of electricity distribution provider Noranett.
Noranett network manager Robin Jakobsen noted that the impact of a single client switching off overnight is substantial.
He predicted that the average household in Hadsel could incur an additional annual expense of approximately NOK 2,500 to 3,000 (equivalent to $235 to $280 USD) as a result of the adjustment.
Batten contended that this is “another illustration of how Bitcoin mining contributes to the reduction of power prices for the general populace.”
The data center consumed approximately 80 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity annually, which is equivalent to the annual electric consumption of approximately 3,200 households.
Freiberg declared that the municipality would pursue new initiatives to compensate for the diminished electricity consumption that resulted from the mining center’s closure.
It is not the first municipality in Norway to receive complaints regarding Bitcoin processing facilities. In September 2022, Cointelegraph reported that the commotion of Bitcoin mining activity in the area was causing complaints among the residents in Sortland, another Norwegian municipality.
Kjetil Hove Pettersen, CEO of the local KryptoVault, clarified that it could be another instance of media propaganda against Bitcoin.
According to Pettersen, the media typically covers the most negative perspectives; however, this does not necessarily represent the views of all local residents.
In the meantime, Arkansas has enacted a bill that established decibel restrictions for crypto mining facilities. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has indicated that she will sign it into law, and it is currently en route to her office.
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