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Last Coal Plants in New England to Shut Down Coal Operations

Published Thursday Mar 28, 2024

Author Ethan DeWitt, NH Bulletin

 

Merrimack Station in Bow will close by 2028, according to Granite Shore Power. (Hadley Barndollar | New Hampshire Bulletin)


This story was corrected on March 27 at 5:49 p.m. to reflect that the U.S. District Court of New Hampshire ruled in favor of Granite Shore Power in December. 

Merrimack Station in Bow, the last operating coal-fired power plant in New England, is set to close its coal operations by June 2028, the plant’s parent company announced Wednesday. 

The decision is part of a settlement agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency, after the Conservation Law Foundation and the Sierra Club brought lawsuits under the Clean Water Act against the parent company, Granite Shore Power.

According to the agreement, the company will also close coal operations at its Portsmouth facility, Schiller Station, by December 31, 2025.

The company will transition the plants into clean energy facilities, which will be billed as “renewable energy parks,” the company said in a statement Wednesday. Schiller Station will feature a battery storage system that is intended to help the coming offshore wind farms in New Hampshire and Maine, according to Granite Shore Power.

“The transformation of these power plants into new, clean energy facilities will mark the end of coal-fired generation in New England and facilitate exciting new economic growth at each location,” the statement read.

The decision follows years of demonstrations by climate change activists, some of whom have been arrested for protesting at the Bow facility and urging it be shut down. 

In their lawsuit, CLF and the Sierra Club had claimed that the company was not following a permit with the EPA that limited how much heated water it could discharge into the Merrimack River. In December, Judge Joseph LaPlante of the U.S. District Court of New Hampshire ruled in favor of the power plants. Wednesday’s settlement agreement emerged as the lawsuit was heading to an appeal before the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.

Representatives of both environmental organizations celebrated the settlement Wednesday.

“The end of coal in New Hampshire, and for the New England region as a whole, is now certain and in sight,” said Tom Irwin, the vice president of the CLF’s New Hampshire office.

Ben Jealous, executive director of the Sierra Club, echoed that sentiment. 

“The people of New Hampshire and all of New England will soon breathe cleaner air and drink safer water, and I’m incredibly proud to see the region continue to grow as a leader in the clean energy transition,” he said. 

Supporters of the Bow plant had argued that it provided necessary power generation to the state during times of peak need, such as in the winter when much of the state’s natural gas supply is used for heating, not electricity. And they said that they had always planned to phase out coal use.

“From our earliest days as owners and operators, we have been crystal clear; while our power occasionally is still on during New England’s warmest days and coldest nights, we were firmly committed to transitioning our facilities away from coal and into a newer, cleaner energy future,” Jim Andrews, CEO of Granite Shore Power, said in a statement. “By pursuing and ultimately entering into this voluntary agreement with the U.S. EPA, we are keeping that commitment.”

This story is courtesy of NH Bulletin under creative commons license. No changes have been made to the article. 

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