Capital Press
A g
The West’s
FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2018
Weekly
VOLUME 91, NUMBER 16
WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM
INVASION E
POWER
SNATCHERS
OF
THE
Huge electricity demands from cryptocurrency
miners threaten low power rates and
Central Washington’s agricultural economy
Area in
detail
Cheap power in high demand
The relatively inexpensive hydroelectric power generated by five
Mid-Columbia dams is a huge draw for cryptocurrency mining
operations requiring vast amounts of power to operate profitably.
Chelan
2
Average
generation
Local
use
Current
crypto use
Requested
crypto use
Grant
Chelan
Douglas
Total
1,036-1,450
1,100-1,500
484
2,620-3,434
590
200
108
898
16.4
9
15
40.4
1,100-1,300
220
205
1,525-1,725
Sources: Grant, Chelan and Douglas public utility districts
Wenatchee
97
90
2
E. Wenatchee
Rock
Island
Ellensburg
17
N
10 miles
28
90
Wanapum
82
Priest
Rapids
12
Yakima
26
ia
mb
Col u
er
Riv
*1 megawatt = 1,000 kilowatts and powers 500 homes.
Wells
Rocky
Reach
Power generation and demand, in megawatts *
County
PUD
97
Dan Wheat and Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
“
Our power rates
are the baseline of our
economy, and if you
give that away to a few
investors, you squander
the baseline for the
benefit of a few ... .”
Dennis Bolz,
president of the board of
commissioners of the Chelan
County Public Utility District
$2.00
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
AST WENATCHEE, Wash. — The hum
is loud and constant. It’s from fans cooling
the first of two dozen “Giga Pods” built at a
crypocurrency mining server farm in an East
Wenatchee industrial park.
Attracted by some of the lowest electricity rates in
the nation, computer servers mine day and night for
bitcoins and other forms of cryptocurrency that can be
worth thousands of dollars apiece. But because they
require enormous amounts of electricity, the mines
threaten to drive up the cost of power that is vital to the
agricultural-based economy of Washington’s Mid-Co-
lumbia region.
With cryptocurrency mining demand for power ap-
proaching 2,000 megawatts — two-thirds of the pro-
duction of the Mid-Columbia’s five hydroelectric dams
— two of the region’s three public utility districts have
stopped approving crypto mining power requests un-
til they update their rates and policies. The third PUD
called a moratorium four years ago to do the same
thing.
Mountain snowpack and spills for flood control and
fish passage figure into the fluctuating power produc-
tion of the five dams, which averages 3,000 megawatts.
That’s enough to power about 1.5 million homes.
Most of the power is sold under long-term contracts
to utilities in Western Washington and beyond, helping
keep local rates down. Less than one-third of the pow-
er, about 900 megawatts, is used locally at a rate of 2
to 4 cents per kilowatt-hour versus the national average
of 12 cents.
Those low rates attract crypto miners, who need
lots of power and say mining will benefit the region
economically, making it a new technology hub and a
cryptocurrency platform for the world.
But Dennis Bolz, president of the board of commis-
sioners of the Chelan County Public Utility District,
sees crypto mining as a get-rich-quick scheme for a few
at the expense of the public. Some people even view it
as immoral, unethical or illegal, since the currency is
not federally issued or regulated, he said.
“Our power rates are the baseline of our econo-
my, and if you give that away to a few investors, you
squander the baseline for the benefit of a few instead
Turn to POWER, Page 10
Washington farmers get sympathy over elk problem
County official:
Damage can’t go on
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
OLYMPIA — Several
Washington Fish and Wildlife
commissioners agreed April
14 that state game managers
should move elk that are dam-
aging farms and ranches in
Eastern Skagit County.
Commissioners offered no
tactics for pushing elk into
nearby hills, but sympathized
with farmers and ranchers
who showed up at a commis-
sion meeting. The producers
restated their frustrations with
the North Cascades herd, also
known as the Nooksack herd.
Randy Good, vice pres-
ident of the Skagit County
Cattlemen’s Association, said
in an interview that he wel-
comed support from the com-
mission and would welcome
results even more.
“We felt really good about
the comments from the com-
mission members, but we
need to see some action,” he
said.
The herd’s population
has approximately doubled
in the past decade to an es-
timated 1,600. The Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife and
nine Native American tribes
spurred the growth by limit-
ing hunting and importing elk
from around Mount St. Hel-
ens in Southwest Washington.
State lawmakers have di-
rected Fish and Wildlife to
minimize the number of elk
on private land. The Legis-
lature, however, has limited
control. Fish and Wildlife
commissioners are appoint-
ed by the governor, and the
department has an agreement
with the tribes to co-manage
the herd.
“I do think we need some
sort of a measurable plan (so)
Turn to ELK, Page 10
Don Jenkins/Capital Press
Elk graze near cattle in the Skagit River Valley in northwest Wash-
ington on March 30. Fish and Wildlife commissioners say they
sympathize with farmers and ranchers suffering elk damage.
ODFW shoots two more Pine Creek wolves
Pack notches third
depredation in April
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
HALFWAY, Ore. — The Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife shot
two more wolves from the Pine Creek
pack Wednesday morning in Baker
County, following the latest in a string
of attacks on livestock.
The most recent depredations
were confirmed Sunday, April 15
and Monday, April 16 at Pine Creek
Ranch in Halfway, Ore. The pack has
now preyed on livestock five times in
April, killing four calves and injuring
another six at two different ranches
roughly 5-6 miles apart.
The spate of incidents prompted
the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association
to ask ODFW to kill more wolves
from the Pine Creek pack to prevent
further livestock losses.
“The wolves are being seen on the
valley floor, and that’s what’s real-
ly disconcerting folks,” said George
Rollins, a Baker County rancher and
Attention
co-chairman of the OCA wolf com-
mittee for Eastern Oregon. “So many
people have seen them now, it’s like
daily sightings.”
ODFW quickly followed through
with the request, shooting an uncol-
lared yearling female and adult male
from a helicopter as the wolves were
spotted on private land where the lat-
est depredations occurred. Wildlife
officials previously shot one yearling
female from the Pine Creek pack on
April 10 as part of a separate lethal
take permit.
OCA had asked to kill all wolves
Exhibitors
16-3/HOU
in the Pine Creek pack, with Rollins
stating that incremental take has not
proven effective in changing the ani-
mals’ behavior.
“They just keep coming back,”
he said. “They are not following the
herds of elk that are on the low hills
area.”
Earlier this year, University of
Wisconsin researchers released a
study suggesting that government kill-
ing of wolves may benefit one farmer
or rancher, but by fracturing the pack
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