Community shares concerns about proposal to turn former crypto plant on Seneca Lake into AI data center

PENN YAN, N.Y. — A community forum is happening on Tuesday night in Yates County to discuss a proposal to turn the former Greenidge Generation cryptomining plant on Seneca Lake into an AI data center.

Residents of the Town of Torrey are holding the forum at Seneca Stag Brewing in Penn Yan starting at 6 p.m. News10NBC’s Garrett Chan has been following the story for weeks and spoke with neighbors who said they’re worried about environmental impacts, emissions, noise, and water use connected to the facility.

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Greenidge, the plant in the Village of Dresden, is seeking to become an AI data center under the name Vulcan Infrastructure and Power. In a statement, the president of Greenidge said the change is in the computing power from cryptocurrency to “high-performance computing.”

Concerns from neighbors

One neighbor, Leah Murray, said she’s skeptical and hopes the community forum educates people about the impacts on those living near the facility, including the noise.

“It’s almost like an idling train or a large idling truck. It’s constant. It just is always there. The town of Torrey is more than just the village of Dresden. You know, there are residents and farms and outlying areas that may not be aware of it,” Murray said.