NYDIG, a financial services firm specializing in Bitcoin-related solutions for institutional clients, has initiated the local planning review process to significantly expand its data center operations at the historic Reynolds industrial site in Massena, New York. The proposal, submitted by NYDIG affiliate North Country Colocation Services (NCCS), signals a strategic pivot from cryptocurrency mining toward high-performance computing and artificial intelligence workloads.
The Massena Town Planning Board placed the project on its June 26 agenda under a "presubmission for NYDIG," with discussions covering the need for environmental consultants and the designation of a lead agency for the review process. NCCS, which has operated in Massena since 2017, is seeking to expand its existing footprint on the legacy Reynolds parcel adjacent to its current data center site. The revised plan would add two new data halls across approximately 355 developable acres, complementing NCCS’s existing 110-acre campus.
The expansion is designed to leverage existing approved power capacity sourced from hydroelectric generation on the St. Lawrence River, avoiding the need for new fossil fuel or nuclear power plants. According to NCCS, the facility will support "modern computing and AI infrastructure," replacing the on-site Bitcoin mining operations that are slated to be phased out. The company noted that construction would proceed on a phased basis over roughly two years, with peak employment reaching between 1,800 and 2,500 workers and approximately 200 permanent full-time positions once operational.
Earlier local reports indicated that the original proposal included three buildings totaling nearly 1.5 million square feet (139,355 square meters) and requiring around 635 megawatts of power. However, NCCS said it redesigned the project in response to community feedback, removing a third building and reducing the overall building footprint by approximately 400,000 square feet (37,160 square meters). The company also emphasized environmental mitigations, stating that the facility would employ a closed-loop cooling system without withdrawing from or discharging into local waterways for non-contact cooling. Additionally, the number of planned backup generators has been cut by roughly 61 percent, from 316 to 124, with generators reserved solely for standby power during outages and periodic testing.
The development has drawn opposition from local residents and the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, who raised concerns about the site's proximity to Akwesasne, the project's energy and water demands, potential strain on local power systems, noise, emissions, and what they described as limited transparency and consultation. The former Reynolds Metals facility, built in 1958 and later acquired by Alcoa before the smelter closed in 2014, offers access to hydropower from the New York Power Authority, making it an attractive location for energy-intensive data center operations.
This expansion reflects a broader industry trend as cryptocurrency mining operators increasingly repurpose their infrastructure for AI and high-performance computing, driven by the growing demand for computational power and the volatility of crypto markets. The shift also underscores the strategic value of sites with access to low-cost, renewable energy sources for next-generation data center development.
Source: datacenterdynamics