Greenidge Generation’s Dresden, New York, facility went offline on November 23rd after an electrical switchgear malfunction ignited a fire. The company reported the incident to regulators and disclosed that safety protocols were activated immediately, leading to de-energizing the plant. No injuries occurred during the incident, which was contained.
The Dresden site is Greenidge’s primary operational asset, housing approximately 106 megawatts of natural-gas generation capacity. It also serves as a base for their proprietary bitcoin mining and co-location businesses, including machines operated by NYDIG. Preliminary assessments indicate minimal damage to the hosted Bitcoin miners at the facility.
A comprehensive investigation is underway with utility partners, local fire marshals, and specialized electrical contractors. While Greenidge anticipates resuming operations in the coming weeks, a timeline for full service restoration remains unclear.
The incident highlights the operational challenges inherent in co-locating fossil fuel power and high-energy digital asset processing.
This outage follows recent regulatory approval of Greenidge’s Title V air permit renewal from New York State regulators, which came after years of environmental scrutiny over their natural gas generation and mining activities.
The incident is also being seen as a reminder of the safety concerns within the rapidly expanding Bitcoin mining sector. A separate fire at a bitcoin mining construction site operated by Bitdeer in Ohio has drawn attention to the industry’s challenges with site-safety and construction risks.