Authorities in the Canadian province of Manitoba have banned new bitcoin mining for 18 months.
It has been learned that authorities in the Canadian province of Manitoba introduced a ban on bitcoin mining for a period of 18 months. According to the directive, the hydroelectric power plant Manitoba Hydro stopped accepting new applications for connecting bitcoin miners, but 37 bitcoin mining sites already operating in the province can continue their activities.
The popularity of Manitoba among miners is due to the fact that the province, after Quebec, has the lowest electricity rates in Canada. The volume of applications to connect new bitcoin mining sites from the middle of last year to the current year is 240. If they had all been fulfilled, the load would have grown by 4.6 gigawatts with Manitoba Hydro’s total generation of 6.1 gigawatts.
The power plant itself has a difficult financial situation: its debt has tripled in 15 years and currently 40% of payments from customers goes to pay off the liabilities.
The American city of Niagara Falls, which is near the Canadian border, has also imposed a restriction on bitcoin mining. In the fall, city officials decided to suspend operation of two mining farms until the noise level from the machines in operation could be lowered. Currently, one of the mining companies has already installed plastic shields and continues to operate.
In the municipality of Washington, D.C., also because of the high levels noise from the mining machines, a decision was made to refuse to allow the company to move its equipment to the area.
Recall that earlier, President Joe Biden’s administration presented its concept of under what conditions bitcoin mining could further develop in the U.S. – this concept caused criticized by the mining community.