Outrage in Hood County over health risks from proposed Granbury power plant expansion

Residents who live near a Granbury bitcoin mining plant say the facility has already caused widespread health issues in the community — and they worry that a proposed expansion of the adjacent power plant would make those issues even worse.

Dozens of people spoke during a Monday night public hearing, which was organized and hosted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The hearing, at Lake Granbury Conference Center, was intended to give residents a chance to respond specifically to Constellation Energy’s air quality permit application, which proposes eight new gas units at its Wolf Hollow site in Hood County.

Those new units, according to Constellation, would generate energy to be sold back to the Texas grid during periods of high usage, such as winter freezes. TCEQ has determined that the energy company’s application would fit within state and national air pollution standards.

But the proposal has hit upon an existing, and related, controversy. Residents have complained for months that the bitcoin mining operation directly adjacent to the power plant puts out nonstop noise that rattles nearby houses and sickens both animals and humans. The bitcoin mining plant is owned and operated by Marathon Digital; the mining operation has a deal with Constellation Energy to get its power directly from the energy company’s plant next door.

Constellation’s existing power plant is a 1,115-megawatt facility, according to the company. The new units that Constellation has proposed would produce an additional 300 megawatts. That additional capacity is equivalent to the capacity of Marathon Digital’s bitcoin mining plant, according to previous reporting by Inside Climate News.

Daniel Lakey, who lives about half a mile from the bitcoin mining plant, said the ambient noise is similar to sitting outside next to a running air conditioner. Try having a conversation over the top of an active A/C unit, he said.

Residents previously told the Star-Telegram that they believe the nonstop noise has caused a host of ailments, from high blood pressure to persistent headaches. The residents who spoke at the Monday hearing said they worry that adding more generators to the site will worsen those issues and make residential life in the area even less tenable.

“I live with this 24/7,” said Cheryl Shadden, who lives across the street from the property. “I can’t take this anymore. ... Constellation Energy is not a good neighbor.”

Constellation Energy spokesperson Brett Nauman, who attended the hearing, provided a written statement that said the company is “committed to being a good neighbor.”

“We are sensitive to community concerns around noise from another facility, and we will be carefully considering that in regards to the new plant and ensure the facilities we operate comply with all state and local noise ordinances,” the statement said.

One of the roadblocks residents have faced, the Star-Telegram previously reported, is that Texas law does not allow counties or TCEQ to regulate noise pollution. Marathon Digital was also found not guilty of a dozen noise violation citations earlier this summer.

Nauman did not specifically answer whether the community outcry might make Constellation rethink its expansion plans.

A number of residents told the TCEQ officials at Monday night’s hearing that they felt the agency was simply going through the motions of listening to the public. They worry, they said, that the agency won’t take their concerns seriously and that the expansion application will be pushed through.

“I have to admit I’m not real hopeful, after hearing all this, that this is doing any good,” said Donna Adair, who lives less than a mile from the facility.

TCEQ chief clerk Laurie Gharis said during the hearing that a decision has not yet been made on the application.

TCEQ is accepting comments on the application through Wednesday. Through TCEQ, affected residents can also file for a contested case hearing on the air quality permit application.