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Cryptocurrency Mining Raises Concerns in Rural Georgia |
ATLANTA – Opposition is growing across Georgia to cryptocurrency mining, the process of creating Bitcoin and other forms of virtual currencies at giant server farm sites.
Residents of Gilmer County, in the mountains of North Georgia, recently rejected a rezoning proposal to allow a cryptocurrency server farm in that rural community. Just north of Gilmer, the Fannin County Commission has enacted a cryptocurrency mining ban.
And several hundred miles to the south, the South Georgia Regional Commission, which represents 18 mostly rural counties, released a model ordinance that counties can use to impose restrictions on the development of cryptocurrency farms.
Opponents complain that cryptocurrency-generating server farms are extremely noisy, impose a huge drain on electricity and water resources, and do not generate enough jobs to justify such negative consequences.
“It’s the biggest scam on the public ever,” said Cyndie Roberson, co-founder of Gilmer County Citizens Against Crypto Mining, which led hundreds of residents to a county planning commission meeting to oppose the project.
“So many attended, people were wrapped around the courthouse,” Roberson said.
The General Assembly addressed the issue during this year’s session in the form of a bill aimed at growing the industry by offering a sales tax exemption on equipment purchased to outfit cryptocurrency server farms and banning local governments to pass noise ordinances aimed specifically at cryptocurrency mining.
The industry has already gained a solid foothold in Georgia. Roberson’s group documented 30 cryptocurrency mining operations in 20 communities across the state, from Rome and Dalton in northwest Georgia to Swainsboro, Sandersville and Brooklet in the southeast.
In fact, Georgia mines the second largest cryptocurrency in the country, behind Texas.
“Bitcoin mining is more than just an economic activity,” Bo Ginn, who runs the Sandersville cryptocurrency mining operation for Nevada-based CleanSpark Inc., told state lawmakers during a hearing on the bill. reads in February.
“This is a major technological advancement that brings significant investment, innovation and job creation to Georgia, especially in our rural communities,” he said.
But Rep. Penny Houston, R-Nashville, said she and her constituents have had a “terrible experience” since a crypto mining server farm began operating in Adel.
“The noise is absolutely atrocious,” he said. “They bring no money, no jobs, except the people who are there to guard the place.”
Houston also complained about the amount of electricity used by cryptocurrency mining. Large data centers are having an impact on Georgia’s power grid, as state lawmakers demonstrated this year when they passed legislation — vetoed by Gov. Brian Kemp — that would have temporarily suspended a tax break aimed at attract more data centers to Georgia.
“We’ve built two (nuclear) reactors at the Vogtle plant and we’re using so much energy that we’re going to have to build another one,” Houston said. “When we have to build another reactor, the taxpayers of this state will have to pay for it.”
Rep. Scott Hilton, R-Peachtree Corners, who introduced this year’s cryptocurrency bill, said it is not at the top of his list of priorities for the 2025 General Assembly session. However, he said that he believes the legislature should eventually address the issue of cryptocurrency.
The model ordinance could be a starting point. It allows the development of cryptocurrency mining operations, but sets standards for the noise levels and appearance that server farms should meet before they can set up shop.
“I think those who are looking to move them here would be open to reasonable accommodations,” Hilton said.
Bob Sherrier, an attorney with the Atlanta-based Southern Environmental Law Center, said he would prefer to let local governments regulate cryptocurrency mining operations rather than impose state control.
“Some industrial areas (suitable for a server farm) are close to residential areas,” he said. “It should be under the control of the local government to say, ‘That area is OK, and that area is not.’ “