New England’s last coal-fired power plant is scheduled to close within the next few years, making it the second region to phase out the energy source that has powered the U.S. economy for decades.
Granite Shore Power, a New Hampshire-based power company, announced late last month that it had reached an agreement with federal regulators to shut down the Schiller plant by 2025 and the Merrimack plant by mid-2028. did. This action underlines the region’s, and more broadly, the nation’s steady progress towards a future dominated by green energy. Environmentalists have been demanding this change for years, and energy advocates have warned against it.
“Everyone in our community will finally be able to breathe clean air,” Johanna Newman, senior director of Environment America’s 100% Renewable Energy Campaign, said in an interview on FOX News Digital. She said: “I think the market has finally caught up with reality. Coal-fired power plants are being shut down and replaced by renewable energy infrastructure.”
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View of Schiller Station in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. (Gordon Cibroski/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)
Environmentalist groups have long argued that both coal-fired power plants in New Hampshire contaminate nearby water sources, release large amounts of soot into the air and threaten public health, and have sought to ensure the closure of both New Hampshire coal-fired power plants. I’ve been trying to make it.
The Sierra Club, one of the groups pushing for the plant’s closure, praised the announcement, noting that it means New England will become the second coal-free region in the United States after the Pacific Northwest. Kathy Corkery, a senior organizer with the New Hampshire Sierra Club, said local residents are “disproportionately burdened with health and safety concerns” related to the facility.
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The two facilities, first built nearly 60 years ago, have a combined capacity of 560 megawatts, enough to power hundreds of thousands of homes. The region’s power plant and other coal-fired power plants, which once played a more central role in supplying power to the grid, have been operating very little these days and are less likely to operate when demand or supply tightens. is used only.
“From our early days as owners and operators, we were very clear: While the power was still on, sometimes even during New England’s hottest days and coldest nights, we “We’ve been firmly committed to transitioning our facilities and moving to newer, cleaner energy in the future,” said Granite Shore Power CEO Jim Andrews.
The first operational turbine at Southfork Wind Farm was photographed on December 7, 2023. Granite Shore Power said it will store electricity generated by offshore wind on the site of a soon-to-be-closed coal-fired power plant. (AP Photo/Julia Nickinson)
As part of the announcement, Andrews added that both coal-fired power plants will be redeveloped into the state’s first “renewable energy park.” Once officially closed, the site will be converted by Granite Shore Power into a solar power and utility-scale energy storage facility.
A Granite Shore Power spokesperson said in a statement that the company has publicly announced its intention to transition its power plants away from coal over a six-year period and will continue to support the regional grid during the transition. Plans include retaining employees at the Schiller and Merrimack plants and increasing the company’s overall workforce, a spokesperson said.
“When it comes to clean energy, America’s message today is clear: Companies want to develop clean energy, and investors want to develop clean energy,” said Ray Long, president and CEO of the American Council. “We want the financing, and American consumers and businesses want to buy it.” About renewable energy. “This historic agreement marks an important step toward America’s clean energy future.”
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The American Clean Power Association, another group that advocates for green energy development, pointed to data showing that most new electricity generation in the United States is green, creating thousands of new jobs.
August 9, 2022 at a solar power plant in Mona, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
But the announcement that another region of the United States is on track to a coal-free future drew harsh criticism from some experts who pointed to the importance of baseload dispatchable generation. Renewable energies such as wind and solar are intermittent or highly dependent on weather conditions, while coal, natural gas, and nuclear power can come online as soon as demand increases.
According to the Energy Information Administration, coal, natural gas, and nuclear power plants produce 49%, 54%, and 93% of their stated capacity, respectively, while solar panels produce 25% of their stated capacity. %, and wind turbines produce 34% of the stated capacity.
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“There is a concerted effort to move from reliable to less reliable sources of power generation,” said Darren Bakst, director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Energy and Environment Center. “And the end result will be less reliable electricity and higher prices for Americans, which will disproportionately impact the poor.”
The coal-fired Brandon Shores Power Plant in Baltimore is among the plants scheduled to close soon amid environmental protests. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
“You have to be able to summon power when you need it, and you have to be able to provide reliable power and turn it on. That’s not possible with intermittent power. Right now, that’s not possible. “, Bakst continued. “Therefore, we need baseload generation to provide reliable power when we need it.”
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ISO-New England, the region’s independent power transmission operator, said on its website that coal is a critical tool for securing power during “the coldest winter days when natural gas supplies are limited.” ing. Additionally, inadequate infrastructure to transport natural gas, New England’s primary power source, impairs the ability to procure the fuel needed to operate natural gas-fired power plants, creating an “energy security risk.” He added that this is occurring.
The operating company declined to comment on the closure of Granite Shore Power’s coal-fired power plant.
“The closure of the Merrimack and Schiller power plants is a major setback for New England energy consumers who require a combination of baseload energy sources, including coal, to ensure power reliability.”Coal-fired power generation companies said Michelle Bloodworth, President and CEO of America’s Power. the industry group told Fox News Digital.
“The closures put families at increased risk of power outages, further increasing their dependence on natural gas, and exposing them to more volatile electricity and natural gas prices,” she continued. “With electricity demand rapidly increasing, these power outages are diametrically opposed to public security. [ISO-New England] guidance and would undermine the reliability and affordability of electricity. ”
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A staggering 22.3 gigawatts of coal-fired power generation capacity was retired in 2022 and 2023, primarily in response to environmental and climate concerns. A further 13 GW he plans to retire in 2024 and 2025.
Still, coal-fired power generates more than 16% of total electricity across the United States, more than solar and wind power combined, according to the latest federal data. As of 2015, coal generated more electricity than any other power source, and a few years ago it generated about half of all electricity in the United States.
