On The Brink with Castle Island Jeff Kirt and Ted Rogers on the Story Behind the Greenidge Plant (EP.219)
Jun 2, 2021
52:20
Jeff Kirt and Ted Rogers, CEO and board director of Greenidge Generation LLC respectively, join the show to discuss the Greenidge plant and Bitcoin mining operation in upstate New York. In this episode:
- The origins of Greenidge
- Why Ted Rogers chose to join the Greenidge board
- How Atlas/Greenidge converted their NY plant from coal to natural gas
- Ted's retrospective on the Segwit 2x drama in the context of the Crypto Mining Council
- How US-based mining has a lower carbon intensity than global miners at large
- Why Greenidge decided to offset their CO2 emissions and how they went about procuring them
- How natural gas has a much lower carbon intensity than coal
- Why banning Bitcoin in NY would actually raise the carbon intensity of Bitcoin
- How the energy debate ultimately comes down to the societal merit of Bitcoin
- How Greenidge sent 60% of their 2020 generated energy to the grid
- How Bitcoin mining has allowed Greenidge to run continuously and better contribute to grid stability
- Demystifying concerns about the trout habitat
- Has Greenidge fielded inquiries from mining firms looking to leave China?