The New Brunswick government is looking to place a permanent ban on so-called cryptocurrency mines.
The industry uses a huge amount of energy, something that can be in short supply, according to the province’s energy minister.
“In February of this year and in July of this year, we came dangerously close to not having enough megawatts to even ensure that New Brunswickers had their power,” Mike Holland said. “We came very close to the lights not even being able to turn on with the existing generation that we have.”
The mines are large buildings, with thousands of computers running 24/7, working to collect digital money like Bitcoin, using a lot of electricity to do it.
NB Power says at one point, the number of requests to mine in the province represented 15 per cent of its entire energy capacity.
The province placed a temporary ban on any new facilities. But prior to that, two had been approved and one is operational.
Holland says it uses upwards of 70 megawatts of energy.
“We're going to need to encourage and grow our capacity to be able to provide more electricity in the province of New Brunswick,” he told reporters.
Michelle Robichaud, CEO of the Atlantica Centre for Energy, calls the industry exciting, one that’s generated some hype.
But it can also quickly come and go.
“I think we need to be thinking about what would be really good economic drivers in the communities that are going to maybe see that change in industry over the next little while,” she said.
Robichaud says the conversation could serve as a reminder of individual energy use.
“Last February, we did have a really cold, cold day and all of our generation assets were firing and doing their jobs, and New Brunswickers also were helping with that,” she said. “It was a Saturday morning. So we weren't, you know, we weren't all showering at the same time...but we should always be thinking about how do we do a little bit better at conserving energy?”
NB Power says it welcomes the ban, stating it can now focus on ways to ensure the lights stay on as it transitions to more clean energy.
Holland introduced the legislation outlining the ban on Tuesday.
