The event comes amid mounting public backlash from Finger Lakes residents and environmental groups, who say the decision prioritizes corporate polluters and jeopardizes New York’s climate progress.
Watch a recording of the event here – passcode: $4gCV0nk
(November 12, 2025) – Today, Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado joined Assemblymember Anna Kelles, Seneca Lake Guardian, local Finger Lakes business owners, and a coalition of concerned environmental advocates and community leaders for a virtual press conference to strongly condemn Governor Kathy Hochul’s recent decision to allow Greenidge Generation, a gas-fired Bitcoin mining facility on Seneca Lake, to continue operating despite repeatedly violating New York’s climate laws.
During the press conference, speakers warned that Hochul is undermining the state’s clean energy commitments and called for immediate, stronger enforcement of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). Proof-of-work cryptomines, like Greenidge Generation, account for up to 2.3% of total energy usage in the US, driving up energy demand and utility costs for everyday New Yorkers. Studies show that cryptocurrency mining nationwide has added over $1 billion a year to ratepayers’ electricity bills, with fossil-fueled facilities like Greenidge contributing heavily to that burden. Speakers sounded the alarm on the impacts of such an energy-intensive facility in the Finger Lakes, including severe environmental, affordability, and community harms.
The Greenidge cryptomining facility has inflicted serious environmental damage on the Finger Lakes region. Fueled by fracked gas, its energy-intensive operations release millions of pounds of climate-warming carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year. The facility also discharges heated water into Seneca Lake on a daily basis, disrupting the lake’s fragile ecosystem and degrading water quality. These harmful practices put both the environment and the health of nearby communities at risk.
“This decision is not just wrong, it’s a betrayal of New York’s values,” said Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado. “By allowing Greenidge to keep burning fracked gas, the Governor is rewarding a corporate polluter that has violated our climate law and stuck working families with the bill. Leadership means having the courage to stand up to powerful interests, not cave to them. New Yorkers deserve clean air, clean water, and a future built on renewable energy, not broken promises and fossil fuels.”
“This deal that will ultimately allow Greenidge Generation to continue operating for another five years is a grave mistake. It violates the spirit of New York’s constitutional right to clean air and clean water and disregards the state’s own environmental findings, which show that fossil-fueled cryptocurrency mining is fundamentally at odds with protecting public health and a stable climate. Greenidge continues to emit harmful pollutants, discharge waste water into streams and the lake that sustains a $4 billion agritourism economy and 60,000 jobs, and now proposes to draw power from the grid raising utility costs for families and small businesses already burdened by high utility bills,” said Assemblymember Anna Kelles. “At a time when communities are struggling with record storms, wildfires, and escalating energy costs, this decision moves us in the wrong direction. The people of the Finger Lakes have fought too hard for clean air, safe water, and affordable energy to see that progress erased by corporate greed. New York’s future must be built on integrity, accountability, and investment in clean, affordable energy that strengthens our communities rather than exploits them.”
“Governor Hochul’s decision to let Greenidge continue operating is a sudden and dangerous betrayal of New York’s climate promises,” said Yvonne Taylor, Vice President of Seneca Lake Guardian. “By allowing Greenidge to keep burning fossil fuels, she’s turning her back on New Yorkers, on our climate laws, and on the communities who have fought for years to protect our great state. Every day this plant runs, it pollutes our air, warms our planet, and threatens Seneca Lake, the lifeblood of our region and a drinking water source for over 100,000 New Yorkers. We urge the Governor to stand with the people, not polluters, before more irreversible damage is done.”
“Allowing cryptomining to remain and expand unchecked sets a dangerous precedent not only for New York, but for the entire country,” said Cyndie Roberson, a member of the National Coalition Against Cryptomining. “Across the United States, proof-of-work cryptomining is driving up energy bills and overloading power grids to generate digital currency for private profit. In New York, the Greenidge facility is a clear example of how this industry endangers local communities. While working families face rising utility costs, cryptominers are leaving ratepayers to shoulder the burden of their pollution and power consumption.”
“Governor Hochul should know that New Yorkers can’t afford the approval of more fracked gas pipelines like Williams’ NESE project,” said Eric Wood, Senior Environmental Program Coordinator at NYPIRG. “We can’t afford it in our utility bills, we can’t afford it in more climate pollution, and we can’t afford more polluted water. While the DEC has previously rejected this proposal multiple times, with this decision, New York is now moving backwards to do the bidding of the fossil fuel industry and its promoters in the White House – at the expense of the public.”
“My property is less than a mile from the Greenidge facility, and every day I see what’s at stake,” said Abi Buddington, property owner and member of Seneca Lake Guardian. “This plant threatens the drinking water of those who draw from the lake, along with the air we breathe, the incredible agritourism industry that is the economic engine of the Finger Lakes and the special community we’ve built here. We’ve worked for years to protect Seneca Lake, and it’s beyond devastating to see the state turn its back on us. There is so much on the line. Once again, we are pleading for relief and bold leadership from the Governor to protect the environment and our community.”
“Governor Hochul’s decision is a dangerous betrayal of New York’s climate leadership,” said Eric Weltman, Senior Organizer with Food & Water Watch. “The Climate Act is our blueprint for a clean, just energy future — but it means nothing if Hochul embraces Donald Trump’s fossil fuel agenda.This was a clear test of whether the governor would respect the rule of law and protect the interests of New Yorkers, and she failed that test.”
“The livelihoods of my family, our employees, and our entire community depend on clean water, clean air, and a healthy Finger Lakes environment,” said Mike Penn, owner and winemaker at Ria’s Wines. “The Greenidge plant puts all of that at risk. Local farms and businesses like ours — wineries, farms, restaurants, hotels, shops — are being forced to shoulder the costs of pollution and climate damage caused by a corporation that just pollutes our lake and air, and gives nothing back to our communities. New York should be investing in sustainable industries, not propping up those that threaten everything we’re building here.”
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About Seneca Lake Guardian
Seneca Lake Guardian is a New York State not-for-profit Corporation with 501(c)(3) and is dedicated to preserving and protecting the health of the Finger Lakes, its residents and visitors, its rural community character, and its agricultural and tourist related businesses through public education, citizen participation, engagement with decision makers, and networking with like-minded organizations.