Bitfarms (mining farm of Quebec) continues to expand its activities although the complaints of residents Sherbrooke (Canadian city in the far south of the province of Quebec.
The complaints that are reported concern the noise and the "unbearable" vibrations arising from the structure.
Citizens' complaints
To solve the problem, the company executives will place a wall of about 23 meters around the mining farm. An initiative that does not convince citizens.
Cyr said that the purpose of the inhabitants is to have activities suspended until the problems related to noise are definitively resolved:
“They told us they operate in good faith. And in the beginning we believed it. Not now. How can we do it? Noise destroys the environment, destroys people's health by causing psychological stress. We had peace and quiet, and we want peace and quiet to return. "
Bitfarms administers five mining farms across the province to obtain low-cost local hydroelectricity. Sherbrooke has struck a deal with the company that will pay the city 3 million Canadian dollars (equivalent to approximately 2.25 million US dollars) per year to compensate for its electricity consumption.
City councilor Marc Denault confessed that if the city had known about the noise generated by the cooling fans, it would not have allowed Bitfarms to build its facility there. In the meantime, it is possible that the company would have opted for a different location for its operations if they had anticipated such inconveniences.
However, Denault assured that the company intends to address the noise issue by renovating the building structure and building a wall outside to reduce noise. The municipal councilor commented on the possible expansion of the mining farm:
“An increase in the capacity of the mining farm will not increase the noise. We expect there will be a significant improvement over the conditions residents currently complain about."
It is not the first case, the company has improved the structure
Patrick Melchior, mayor of Farnham, the city where Bitfarms operates, supports Denault's claims that the company is working to solve noise problems. Melchior said residents were also showing similar complaints in 2017, but the company has since taken steps to improve the situation:
“They have been very cooperative. Their goal was not certain to have a bad reputation. They reduced the noise considerably… and the citizens were very satisfied. The case is closed for us."
For Google Finance , the value of Bitfarms shares is currently about 0.53 Canadian dollars (0.40 $), down more than 75% from the July prices.
Although the market conditions present some hesitation, the active mining farms remain optimistic about the future developments of their sector. Northern Bitcoin, a German mining farm, has entered into a merger agreement with US competitor Whinstone to build what should be the largest mining farm in the world.