Close X
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
ADVT 
National

Crypto mining company loses bid to force BC Hydro to provide power

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 05 Feb, 2024 04:55 PM
  • Crypto mining company loses bid to force BC Hydro to provide power

A cryptocurrency mining company has lost a bid to force BC Hydro to provide the vast amounts of power needed for its operations, upholding the provincial government's right to pause power connections for new crypto miners.  

Conifex Timber Inc., a forestry company that branched out into cryptocurrency mining, had gone to the B.C. Supreme Court to have the policy declared invalid.

But Justice Michael Tammen says in a ruling issued Friday that the government's move in December 2022 to pause new connections for cryptocurrency mining for 18 months was "reasonable" and not "unduly discriminatory."

BC Hydro CEO Christopher O'Riley had told the court in an affidavit that the data centres proposed by Conifex would have consumed 2.5 million megawatt-hours of electricity each year. 

That's enough to power and heat more than 570,000 apartments, according to data on the power provider's website. 

Energy Minister Josie Osborne said when the policy was introduced that cryptocurrency mining consumes "massive amounts of electricity" by running high-powered computers around the clock, but adds "very few jobs" to the local economy.

MORE National ARTICLES

Five Canadians facing extradition to the U.S. for involvement in drug-smuggling ring

Five Canadians facing extradition to the U.S. for involvement in drug-smuggling ring
According to U.S. authorities, Scoppa, 55, is alleged to have bought massive quantities of cocaine and other drugs on a wholesale basis. In addition to Scoppa, the Mounties arrested Ivan Gravel Gonzalez, 32, of Trois-Rivières, Que., Ayush Sharma, 25, and Guramrit Sidhu, 60, of Brampton, Ont., and Subham Kumar, 29, of Calgary. One of the indictments says Sidhu allegedly purchased kilograms of methamphetamine from suppliers in Mexico and Los Angeles. 

Five Canadians facing extradition to the U.S. for involvement in drug-smuggling ring

Champagne says he's working phones to court new players for Canadian grocery market

Champagne says he's working phones to court new players for Canadian grocery market
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne is once again insisting that he is reaching out to international grocers in the hopes they will open up shop in Canada and spur more competition. Champagne said Tuesday that he'd spoken to one foreign grocer that very morning as part of his efforts to court new players for the Canadian grocery sector  — but he's not naming any names. 

Champagne says he's working phones to court new players for Canadian grocery market

Canada sends $40M for Palestinians in Gaza, as Liberal MP decries UNRWA freeze

Canada sends $40M for Palestinians in Gaza, as Liberal MP decries UNRWA freeze
Canada is sending another $40 million in aid to organizations that are helping people in the Gaza Strip after pausing funding to the UN's relief agency for Palestinians — with one Liberal MP saying it's doubtful other groups will be as effective. The funding top-up, bringing the total commitment to $100 million, comes as Ottawa condemns what it calls "inflammatory rhetoric" from Israeli government officials about the forced displacement of those who live in the besieged territory. 

Canada sends $40M for Palestinians in Gaza, as Liberal MP decries UNRWA freeze

Overnight fire at Surrey strip mall

Overnight fire at Surrey strip mall
Surrey police are investigating a suspicious fire overnight that engulfed several businesses at a strip mall. RCMP say it happened at around midnight at the mall at the intersection of 148th Street and 108th Avenue.

Overnight fire at Surrey strip mall

Punjab man guilty of fatal car crash in Canada deported to India

Punjab man guilty of fatal car crash in Canada deported to India
A 26-year-old man hailing from Punjab has been deported to India less than a year after he was found guilty of a car crash that killed a woman and her elderly mother in the Canadian province of Alberta. Bipinjot Gill, who arrived in Canada in 2016 on a student visa, sped through a red light in Calgary on May 18, 2019, killing Uzma Afzal, 31, and her mother, Bilquees Begum, 65, on the spot.

Punjab man guilty of fatal car crash in Canada deported to India

Indo-Canadian arrested in connection with fatal shooting of teen

Indo-Canadian arrested in connection with fatal shooting of teen
An 18-year-old Indo-Canadian has been taken into custody and an arrest warrant has been issued for a 16-year-old in connection with the shooting death of a fellow Indian-origin teen last month. On December 19, 2023, a local hospital notified Peel Police about 18-year-old Nishan Thind who was admitted with a gunshot wound just before 6 pm.

Indo-Canadian arrested in connection with fatal shooting of teen