The opponents are calling for Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Department of Environmental Conservation to deny renewal of an air permit for the Fortistar plant at 1070 Erie Ave. that Digihost bought earlier this year.
Digihost, a Canadian company, already runs bitcoin mining operations inside shipping container-sized structures located on the property. Those operations have generated complaints from residents about noise pollution.
The opponents claim Digihost wants to increase the Fortistar natural gas burning plant's output to full power. It would be a dramatic shift for a facility that previously served as a "peaker" plant, operating only in times of high energy demand, and at very low output.
Environmentalists say Digihost's plan will ramp up the plant's carbon emissions, running counter to the state's aggressive push to fight the effects of climate change.
"It is insane that we have to be playing whack-a-mole with these facilities when we are the state with a nation-leading climate law on the books," said Liz Moran, New York policy advocate with Earthjustice.
Environmentalists say Fortistar's request was filed over two years ago, and called for state officials to act.
They see a parallel with Greenidge Generation, a cryptomining operation in Dresden, along Seneca Lake. The DEC last year denied Greenidge's air permit renewal application, finding the plant inconsistent with the state's climate law.
"It is the exact same situation, so we should see the exact same outcome," said Assemblywoman Anna Kelles, D-Ithaca. "We have an air permit that was denied for Greenidge for the same reasons."
Digihost did not respond to a request to comment Tuesday. The company previously told state officials that it plans to convert the Fortistar plant to renewable natural gas, and then to other renewable sources of energy.
The next step for the DEC would be to release a draft air permit for the Fortistar facility, said Jessamine De Ocampo, associate attorney with Earthjustice's Clean Energy Program. That would launch a public comment period, after which the DEC would make its decision on the permit.
The Digihost operation in North Tonawanda has been an ongoing source of controversy. Environmentalists previously sought to overturn the city's approval of the cryptocurrency plant, but a judge dismissed that lawsuit.
Opponents of cryptocurrency mining say that the data mining process uses massive amounts of electricity, leading to increased emissions of greenhouse gases from power plants, along with noise pollution.
Deb Gondek, a resident of North Tonawanda for 38 years, said the Digihost's cryptocurrency mining operations have generated noise that creates a health hazard for nearby residents.
"The noise can be heard inside homes, with all windows and doors closed," Gondek said.
Western New York has attracted the interest of cryptocurrency operations, with vacant manufacturing plants equipped with the electrical infrastructure those operations require.
Hochul last year signed a two-year moratorium on some types of cryptocurrency mining operations in the state. Digihost's operation in North Tonawanda was not covered by that moratorium, since its project was already underway.
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