Greenidge Renews Air Permit for New York Bitcoin Mine, Ending Years-Long Legal Fight
Greenidge Generation has reached an agreement with New York State regulators to renew its Title V Air Permit for another five years, resolving a protracted dispute at its natural-gas power generation and bitcoin mining facility in Dresden, Yates County.
The agreement with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) marks the end of years of litigation stemming from the state’s 2022 decision to deny the company’s permit renewal under the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). That denial was overturned by a New York Supreme Court ruling in November 2024, paving the way for settlement talks that culminated in the new agreement.
Under the renewed permit, Greenidge must meet stricter emissions limits, including a 44 percent reduction in its permitted greenhouse-gas emissions by 2030 and a 25 percent cut in actual emissions over the same period — thresholds that exceed the CLCPA’s statewide 40 percent reduction goal. NYSDEC concluded that the new limits make the Dresden facility consistent with state climate mandates.
The settlement ends all pending litigation and administrative appeals between Greenidge and the state, with both sides agreeing to withdraw related cases before the Appellate Division and the agency’s administrative hearing process.
“This voluntary agreement speaks to our commitment to being a responsible partner with the state,” Greenidge President Dale Irwin said in the company’s statement. “We’re pleased with this tough, fair new permit, and happy to put this process where it has belonged for years – in the rear-view mirror.”
The Dresden facility, a former coal-fired plant acquired and converted by Greenidge in 2016, began supplying power to the local grid in 2017 and added bitcoin-mining operations in 2020. The company says the site contributes electricity to the upstate grid whenever operating, with the capacity to ramp up supply in minutes to meet peak-demand needs.
Greenidge said the new permit allows it to continue supplying power to both the New York Independent System Operator grid and its on-site datacenter.
The renewal follows years of contention between Greenidge and environmental groups, who argued the plant’s cryptocurrency operations undermined New York’s climate goals. The DEC’s 2022 denial of the permit was the first time the agency invoked the CLCPA to block a facility’s continued operation on greenhouse-gas grounds. The subsequent court reversal, however, found the agency had not adequately justified its denial under state law.
