Greenidge crypto mining plant on track to install screens in Seneca Lake

by: Carl Aldinger

Posted: Dec 27, 2022 / 12:14 PM EST

Updated: Dec 27, 2022 / 06:01 PM EST

DRESDEN, N.Y. (WETM) – Just under a month before its DEC-approved deadline, Greenidge Generation is on track to install wire screens on its intake pipes in Seneca Lake, the company announced.

On Dec. 27, 2022, Greenidge announced that the cylindrical wire wedge screens were recently lowered into Seneca Lake to be installed on the plant's water intake system. The NYS Department of Conservation approved the installation in late December, followed by federal approval in early October.

The company reportedly has a deadline of January 20, 2023 to install the screens, as approved by the DEC. The original deadline was Sept. 30, 2022, but this was extended by the DEC.

The extension caused outrage from the Seneca Lake Guardians environmental group when it was announced. The group called the DEC's decision an "11th-hour bait and switch". SLG has raised concerns about marine life in Seneca Lake getting drawn into the plant's intake pipe, as well as the high temperature at which the water is pumped back into the lake.

In response, Greenidge said it met all deadlines from the DEC and followed proper procedure, adding that it took years of work, research, study, and paperwork to implement the screens. As such, this prevented from applying for authorization sooner, the company said. Greenidge also refuted SLG's claims that water is pumped back into the lake at over 100 degrees.

We’ve said it for years: the screens are going in, we are making the investment and we simply need to go through all of the extensive State and Federal approval processes. Our opponents like to pretend you can stop by Home Depot and pick up some metal fencing and just throw it on the intake pipe. But anyone serious knows that isn't the case. We have checked every single box required by State DEC and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, going through years of detailed study and testing, because this needs to be done right for the lake we all love. Water has been drawn from Seneca Lake into this facility for nearly 80 years, and now for the first time, thanks to a more than $6 million investment from Greenidge, wedge wire screen technology will be in place to add further protections for aquatic life.