A mining site in Norway has been forced to close due to noise issues, and residents' annual ele
According to Cointelegraph, a Bitcoin mine in Hadsel, Norway, was forced to close by the local government due to noise issues, causing damage to the electricity company's revenue. Local residents may face an annual electricity bill increase of 2500 to 3000 Norwegian kroner as a result. Climate technology venture capitalist Daniel Batten commented in an X tweet on September 13th:
When politicians make misleading accusations about Bitcoin, it is ultimately the people who suffer
On September 13th, Mayor Kjell-B ø rge Freiberg of Hardsell stated in an interview with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) that local residents had previously protested multiple times to the local government, claiming that the noise problem at the Bitcoin mine was disrupting their daily lives. According to City Population data, the population of Hardsell is approximately 8236 people. Finally, at the request of the local government, this Bitcoin mine was closed for the week of September 9th.
Although many residents are satisfied with the closure after years of protests, the mine accounts for about 20% of the local electricity distributor Noranett's income and consumes approximately 80 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity annually, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of about 3200 households. This means that the local electricity charge will be increased after the mine is closed to make up for the loss of income. Noranett Grid Manager Robin Jakobsen said:
When such a large number of individual customers stop operating overnight, it will inevitably have an impact
He estimated that after adjustment, the average household in Hadsel may incur an additional cost of 2500 to 3000 Norwegian kroner per year (equivalent to approximately 235 to 280 US dollars).
Mayor Freiberg stated that the city will seek new projects to compensate for the reduced electricity consumption after the closure of the mining site.
However, this is not the first case in Norway to file a complaint against a Bitcoin mining facility. In September 2022, residents of another Norwegian municipality, Sortland, also filed complaints about the noise caused by local Bitcoin mining activities.
At the same time, Arkansas recently passed a bill imposing noise restrictions on cryptocurrency mining sites, which is being submitted to Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders for approval. It is reported that she has stated that she will sign it into law.