The Yates County Planning Board decided not to recommend an application by Greenidge Generation to expand its site in Torrey.
Following that decision on Thursday, the entire application will be sent back to the Town of Torrey Planning Board for a February 15 vote.
Greenidge will now have to wait longer to expand. Mary Finneran shared her frustration at the session. “It’s not something that’s behooving Yates County at all. You’re not getting the energy at all, all you’re getting is the environmental devastation,” she said.
“I make a motion, we table this resolution, or application until some of these concerns are answered,” planning board member Ed Moberg said.
It will now take a supermajority on the Torrey Town Planning Board to approve the project. That’s a majority-plus-one.
Dale Irwin, CEO of Greenidge Generation, issued the following statement regarding the Yates County Planning Board’s non-binding advisory opinion regarding a proposal by the company that was already approved by a 4-1 vote by the Town of Torrey:
“The County’s view last night is a non-binding advisory opinion on a proposal that had already been approved by a supermajority 4-1 vote by the Town of Torrey Planning Board. We respectfully disagree with the County Board’s assessment of the issues and it is the Town Planning Board which will make the final determination on any site plan application. The proposal presented to build new capacity considered by the County Board is only one of several options Greenidge could utilize to expand its “one-of-a-kind” data center. The company is in full compliance with all existing air and water permits to operate its business, as the State Department of Environmental Conservation has recently stated unequivocally. Greenidge has launched one of the premier, fully integrated, behind-the-meter cryptocurrency mining operations in the country, further cementing New York’s role as the financial capital of the world. The project will foster additional job creation in Yates County and significant new tax revenues for the community, benefitting fellow residents. Greenidge also already spends hundreds of thousands of dollars annually supporting local vendors and businesses. We are proud and excited to continue our commitment to the region by bringing tech and innovation to the Finger Lakes. We’re developing blockchain jobs for the new economy as the Governor has challenged the State to do.”
https://www.fingerlakes1.com/2021/01/26/cuomo-lets-greenidge-cargill-skip-environmental-reviews-triggering-outcry-lawsuits/
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