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The Greenville City Council is scheduled to meet online today to hear a dozen requests including one that would allow large data processing centers to operate in the city's jurisdiction.

The request that would allow Minnesota-base Compute North to build a facility that would support crypto currency mining has stirred opposition.

Opponents gathered at East Carolina University on Thursday to rally the support of students against the proposal.

A small group of organizers posted up between ECUs Main Campus Student Center and Joyner Library at 1 p.m., about a half an hour after ECU announced it was cancelling Friday classes due to expected inclement winter weather. Few students stopped at the rally site, but they did accept fliers from Chad Carwein, one of the organizers.

That the students accepted the flier, which had information about cryptocurrency mining and QR codes with a link to a change.org petition and the city councils meeting information, was positive, said Carwein.

They have so much information coming at them from so many sources, if they can take some time today to get some information . I think its a win, he said. Many people dont seem to know much about cryptocurrency, he said.

They dont know where it comes from or how much energy it uses, Carwein said. They were surprised to learn a bitcoin transaction uses as much energy as a household does in one month, he said. The data came from Digiconomist.com, a website dedicated to exposing the unintended consequences of digital trends.

All of a sudden their jaws drop, their eyes open up and they are paying attention, he said.

Carwein is ECUs sustainability manager, coordinating efforts to reduce energy usage and address other environmental challenges. Carwein said Thursday he wasnt on duty and was participating as a private citizen.

The council meets at 6 p.m. It will hold 12 virtual public hearings including a public hearing on a request to establish modular data processing facility and data processing center as two new uses in the city code and to define the associated standards and zoning districts where they will be permitted.

The data processing that occurs at these locations involves large groups of computer systems and accessory components that are used for remote storage, processing or distribution of large amounts of data, such as the computer processing needed for cryptocurrency mining.

Compute North sought to open an 89-unit modular data processing site on property near Belvoir Elementary School in the fall. The company withdrew its request after encountering intense opposition from parents whose children attend the school and neighboring residents.

Opponents raised concerns about noise from more than 1,000 fans used to cool the computing equipment and the amount of electricity the facility would require. There have been some locations that saw electric rates increase because the facilities drew too much power.

Greenville Utilities Commission said that will not happen locally because it has access to enough electricity to meet Compute Norths needs.

In December staff brought a request to Greenvilles Planning and Zoning Commission to amend the city rules permitting such a facility to operate in or near the city. Compute North confirmed it is working with local officials to find property in areas with industrial zoning to locate.

Opponents still worry about negative effects from its operation because some industrial zoned areas are near houses.

Were trying to address Greenville allowing cryptomining to happen in our community. Its effects are not well known and the (effects) that are known are not beneficial, said Owen Bergquist, one of the organizers of Thursdays event.

Crypto mining uses a lot of electricity to verify transactions, Bergquist said. GUCs electric supply comes from providers that use fossil fuels.

When these high energy computations are being used to validate transactions with cryptocurrency that is putting a lot of CO2 (carbon dioxide) into the atmosphere and setting us back on our energy goals, Bergquist said.

Mondays council meeting begins at 6 p.m. and is being held remotely via Zoom. It was originally scheduled for Jan. 13 but postponed because of COVID safety protocols.

Anyone who wants to participate in the public hearing can sign up at http://www.greenvillenc.gov on the city council meetings page. Written comments were due no later than 6 p.m. Sunday.

The proposed rule changes that supports cryptocurrency mining is one of 12 public hearings scheduled for Monday.

The other public hearing involve:

Other business on Thursdays agenda includes:

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City council to hear request that would allow cryptocurrency mining tonight - Greenville Daily Reflector