“We just want to be proactive about this,” said board Chairman Norm Passmore. “There’s a lot of misinformation about this, and we want to have a community conversation of what it is and what we should be aware of for future planning.”
Passmore said commissioners have asked county Planning Director Megan Bailey and Columbia REA, the member-owned electric cooperative, to present information, and also want to hear from citizens about what direction the county should take.
The meeting has been spurred, in part, by an application from Eastern Mineland LLC of Bellevue, Wash., to place a data center on Patit Road next to the Columbia REA substation. Bailey said the application is incomplete and will not be the subject of Monday’s meeting.
Data centers that use banks of computers to “mine” cryptocurrency have caused controversy in other communities due to the amounts of power needed by the facilities. As reported by the Union-Bulletin, heated comments and debate surrounded a recent decision by the Port of Walla Walla to embark on a land lease and purchase option with Ant Creek LLC for Port-owned property in the Wallula area.
Cryptocurrency-mining operations have also become a subject of public debate in other parts of the state, including the city of Wenatchee and Chelan County. Those communities have been deluged with requests for blockchain-style mining operations that could have a massive impact on power use and infrastructure for the ever-fluctuating value of bitcoin.
According to a simplified online description, a bitcoin is a type of digital currency that uses encryption techniques to regulate the generation of units. It allows people to buy goods and services and exchange money without involving banks, credit card issuers or other third parties, according to an Associate Press website.
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