Another Texas City Is Protesting Against Bitcoin Mining

The city of Thorndale has passed a resolution in support of local residents, expressing opposition to a proposed 15-megawatt bitcoin mining facility in the area.

According to a report by local broadcaster KXXV on Thursday, bitcoin mining firm Data Factory Austin has shown interest in land outside Thorndale in Milam County for this project. However, local residents have voiced their concerns and signed a petition to stop the development.

“Millions of people who have neither mined nor traded a bitcoin are paying for bitcoins to exist by way of higher energy bills. Data Factory plans to build a 15MW site; that’s like 10,500 homes per day of electricity consumption. On top of all this, bitcoin has no intrinsic value,” the petition writes.

Earlier this week, the city of Thorndale passed a resolution to show solidarity with its citizens, sharing it with state leaders in an effort to prevent the project. While the resolution is not legally binding, KXXV reported that the Milam County Judge stated the project was “called off due to a lack of permits and its location in a floodplain.”

Data Factory Austin claims on its website to own 49 MW of bitcoin mining power capacity, including 15 MW in Thorndale, 10 MW in Rockdale, and 22 MW in Denton—all based in Texas.

Thorndale joins other Texas towns and cities in opposing bitcoin mining operations due to noise concerns. The citizens’ petition referenced the noise issue in Granbury, which gained national attention because of the size of the infrastructure owned by the world’s largest public mining firm, MARA.