Norwegian Town Faces Energy Cost Surge After Bitcoin Farm Closure

Residents of the Hadsel municipality in Norway succeeded in shutting down a Bitcoin mining centre due to noise complaints. However, this led to a sharp increase in electricity bills.

Power bills increased by $300 per year for each home in a Norwegian town after the local #bitcoin miner shut down.

The miner paid 20% of the area’s grid fees, thus subsidizing other consumers. With the miner gone, people’s power bills are skyrocketing.https://t.co/otWU7NHRQB pic.twitter.com/wRSX1radWi

— Jaran Mellerud ?⛏️ (@JMellerud) September 14, 2024

The campaign to cease the facility’s operations lasted three years. In Hadsel, the issuance of a temporary permit to Stokmarknes Datasenter for mining activities was deemed a mistake. The approval expired in early September.

“It’s settled. We are very pleased,” commented Mayor Kjell-Børge Freiberg.

According to him, noise was a significant issue with the data centre. In 2022, the company implemented several noise pollution mitigation measures, such as sound barriers, following initial complaints from residents. However, these did not resolve the grievances.

The Stokmarknes Datasenter Bitcoin farm consumed approximately 80 GWh of electricity annually, contributing about 20% of the total revenue to local provider Noranett.

“When such a large individual customer shuts down overnight, it has an impact,” acknowledged electricity supplier manager Robin Jakobsen.

He estimated that to offset the lost revenue, bills for an average household in Hadsel will increase by 2500-3000 kroner (~$234-281) annually. Currently, this expense for families is around 12,000-13,000 kroner.

The mayor stated that authorities are seeking an industrial consumer for Noranett, but this “may take months.”

“We need an industry that creates value, so no one thinks we need a new data centre,” Freiberg emphasized.

In April, Norwegian authorities decided to classify cryptocurrency mining as an undesirable activity in the country.