Concern for energy
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Editor,
A Bitcoin Mining company is planning to build a new 50-megawatt data center in Polson and Energy Keepers (a CSKT corporation) is contracting to supply hydropower from the Salish-Kootenai Dam (formerly Kerr Dam). This huge operation will use 25% of the power that the dam generates, or the same amount of power to supply over 35,000 homes. Let that sink in.
It will also generate noise that sounds like a huge plane taking off 24/7. Ask the Missoula County Commissioners about their negative experience with a Bitcoin mining company that set up shop in Bonner.
This company will produce no products or provide any services. The County Commissioners, Polson City Manager, and Mission Valley Power were not even consulted about this company moving in. They all read about it in the papers like myself. This is pathetic. Tester, Daines, Gianforte and the CSKT were all in on it, but failed to even give anyone a heads up on what they were working on. Why the secrecy?
Mission Valley Power gets part of their power from the dam via one-year contracts. With this new energy hog consuming 25% of the dam’s output, what will that mean to our power rates skyrocketing because MVP may have to go elsewhere for that power? Evidently, Energy Keepers is more concerned about supplying power to a huge out of state corporation than the citizens of Lake County.
Right now, our country is hurting for electric power because of the closing of coal powered plants, electric cars needing power, more homes being built, etc. They are already warning of rolling power outages for parts of the country over the next years, yet the power from our local dam will be used for a company that produces nothing of worth to anyone in the state of Montana, except a few jobs. It’s not worth the cost of throwing all that power down a black hole.
I hope someone takes this on and organizes a huge opposition to this pathetic waste of hydro power.
John Meinders
St. Ignatius
