The smokestacks of New England’s last coal-fired power plant, Merrimack Station in Bow, New Hampshire, have gone silent. The facility shut down in September, years ahead of schedule, ending coal-fired energy production in the region.
Operational since the 1960s, Merrimack Station faced declining financial viability and increasing environmental pressures. The future of the site may now involve on-site solar and battery storage.
Granite Shore Power, the owner, ceased operations on September 12. The shutdown was part of a 2024 settlement with the Conservation Law Foundation, Sierra Club, and the Environmental Protection Agency over Clean Water Act violations, which required closure by 2028. Coal’s economic unsustainability was highlighted by this early closure.
“Coal has been challenged in New England for twenty years,” noted Dan Dolan, president of the New England Power Generators Association. “The market no longer sustains these facilities.”
The station’s 438-megawatt output declined steadily over the past two decades. Once operating at 70-80% capacity in the early 2000s, it has not exceeded 8% in recent years, running only during peak demand periods.
Older coal plants like Merrimack, despite running only during peak times, take long to power up. Faster-starting natural gas “peaker” plants have replaced them.
ISO New England, which operates the region’s electricity grid, noted it dispatches cheaper sources first. As more affordable options emerged, coal plants were used less frequently.
Over a decade, New England’s coal use fell by more than 90%, replaced by cheaper natural gas and renewables.
The first New England winter without coal will have minimal grid impact. Merrimack accounted for only 0.22% of 2024’s electricity generation, easily replaced by renewables, natural gas, and power imports.
The shutdown ends a long chapter in environmental activism, marked by protests and litigation. The No Coal No Gas campaign, led by 350 New Hampshire and the Climate Disobedience Center, launched in 2019 aiming to close the plant. Activists’ civil disobedience actions, including blocking shipments and occupying smokestacks, resulted in over a hundred arrests and national attention.
“We’re very excited,” stated Rebecca Beaulieu of 350 New Hampshire. In 2023, Merrimack Station failed an emissions test showing particulate matter levels 70% above federal limits and high mercury and nitrogen oxide levels. “Knowing it will never power up again is a relief,” she added.
The closure creates uncertainty for employees, many transferred to other Granite Shore Power sites. However, both activists and the utility see potential economic opportunities at the site.
“The agreement with the EPA paves the way for ‘Renewable Energy Parks’ in the state,” Granite Shore Power stated last year. Merrimack and Schiller Station are set for conversion to renewable energy and battery storage sites, utilizing 400 acres and existing infrastructure.
Granite Shore Power credits the Inflation Reduction Act for making renewable-energy plans feasible, though the policy environment remains uncertain with federal renewable-energy incentive rollbacks.
Just weeks after Merrimack’s closure, the administration announced a $625 million investment in coal-related projects. Federal officials have not commented on the plant’s shutdown.
As Granite Shore Power transitions to coal-free energy production, the No Coal No Gas campaign is focusing on oil- and gas-fired peaker plants operating at peak demand, including two kerosene turbines at the Merrimack site.
“These inefficient oil and gas facilities receive subsidies but sit idle most of the year. When they operate, it is with high pollution and costs,” the campaign stated.
Original Story at insideclimatenews.org