Recently, a company specialising in crypto mining, Stronghold, has been requesting access to fuel from burned tires. This is in the hopes of powering their crypto-mining machine. They had their hopes on this plan due to the EPA’s recent approval of energy from tires for other industries.
The company hopes to use this energy to power 15% of its operations. This will be useful in a potential crypto recovery. Their intention is to use tires in a facility in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania, in Panther Creek Power plant, to produce this energy for their crypto mining machine. This has already sparked outrage among some, and many environmental activists are reading to protest this move.
The company has been planning its moves for over a month. In July, Stronghold applied at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The public at large, and therefore activists, did not know about this until very recently, at the end of this month.
Can Questionable Environmental Standards Cause a Crypto Recovery?
Using fuel from tires has been impermissible in the US for a while now. Since 1991, plants across Pennsylvania have been using this type of energy. However, to use it, the companies would need permission. Activists have pointed out that facilities producing this type of energy have questionable environmental standards. They question whether a crypto mining company should also have permission for such activities.
The crypto mining company has been doing well recently, so it was looking for ways to expand. Their crypto mining rig has had positive results in mining Bitcoin in the Q2 of 2023. This was a considerable improvement over their Q4 results from 2022, a 43% rise. The growth is not as big compared to the Q1 of 2023, only going up by 1% in the time. Overall, their profits have been in the green, losing $11.7 million but generating $18.2 million. This represents a net gain of $6.5 million for the crypto-mining company.
