Bitcoin mining ceases at Dowagiac data center, consistent humming no longer heard

DOWAGIAC, Mich. -- Bitcoin mining has officially ceased at the Hyperscale Data facility in Dowagiac, bringing relief to neighbors who say they have spent months dealing with the constant hum of the company’s cryptocurrency mining operation.

Hyperscale Data CEO William Horne said the Bitcoin mining operation at the facility went offline Tuesday, September 1. The company now plans to transition the site into a full artificial intelligence data center operation.

For residents living near the facility, the change has already made a noticeable difference.

“It’s been very loud every day, day in and day out,” Dowagiac resident Ami File says. “But in the last two or three weeks, they’ve been turning it off and on, and for the last couple of days, it’s been completely off.”

File says the noise had affected how her family used their property.

“We built this deck in front of our house to sit out on the deck, but we’d go in the back even though it was still loud in the back,” File says.

The data center’s cryptocurrency mining operation has been the subject of a pending class-action lawsuit over alleged noise pollution.

During a visit to Dowagiac in July, Horne told residents that moving away from Bitcoin mining was expected to reduce the noise coming from the facility.

Residents say they have already noticed the difference.

“I can hear the birds now too, it’s insane,” File says.

While residents are enjoying the temporary relief, questions remain about what the facility’s future AI operations will sound like.

Horne said the company is moving toward operating the Dowagiac facility as a full AI data center, but he could not say for certain how loud or disruptive those operations could be for the neighboring community.

For now, residents say they are enjoying the quiet.

“I’m just happy to be at peace at this moment,” File says.