The Bitcoin hum that is unsettling Trump's MAGA heartlands
Dresden is in New York's Finger Lakes region – a rural area sliced through with deep glacial lakes, which attracts tourists drawn by its wineries, breweries and outdoor pursuits. In Yates County, home to Dresden and the Greenidge plant, around 60% of voters picked Trump last November.
According to the owners of the mine, Greenidge Generation, anywhere from 40 to 120 Bitcoin a month are being produced at the plant, along with some energy that flows back to the grid.
The company – which turned down requests for an interview – has argued that they converted a coal-burning operation into a relatively cleaner gas-fired power installation that complies with state environmental laws.
But amid public concern, New York state and Greenidge are currently engaged in a protracted legal battle over the plant's future. With some of the strictest environmental laws in the country, New York officials are challenging whether the gas-fired plant is permitted under the regulations that allowed the old coal plant. Power generation – and Bitcoin mining – has been allowed to continue during appeal proceedings.
Abi Buddington, who owns a house in Dresden and has been at the forefront of the fight against the crypto mine, says it has become a big issue locally.
"The climate changed, both environmentally as well as in our quiet little community," she says, recalling raised voices at contentious town hall meetings.
Ms Buddington is trying to change minds in Dresden and, through her network, elsewhere around the country.
"There are some who are environmentally concerned, and who may be Republican-leaning," she says. "What we've found nationally is even in red states, once elected officials are educated properly and know the harms, they are very opposed."
But not all are convinced. "They've been a good corporate neighbour," says Dresden's recently elected mayor, Brian Flynn, about the mine. "I'm pro-business, whether it be Greenidge or local agriculture… I think it's important to have a mix of both industry and recreation."
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