Burning coal at the Merrimack power plant is over. (Granite Shore Power)

George Harvey

Granite Shore Power (GSP), owner of the Schiller (Portsmouth, NH) and Merrimack (Bow, NH) coal-burning power plants made an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency to close both plants. The Schiller plant will be officially closed in 2025, and the Merrimack plant will be shut down in June of 2028, at the latest. Both plants will be replaced by renewable energy parks, consisting of solar arrays and battery storage facilities at the sites of the power plants.

The Schiller and Merrimack plants are the last coal-burning plants in New England, so the entire area will be coal-free. It will be the second area of the United States to be coal-free, after the Pacific Northwest.

The announcement made by GSP was met by numerous groups as a vindication of their efforts. The Conservation Law Foundation and the Sierra Club had brought litigation against the plants, alleging violations of the Clean Water Act. Others had also made claims that the Merrimack plant was failing to operate within environmental limits on emissions. The litigation is ending with the agreement.

Local organizations also took credit for their parts in bringing the plant closings about. The Climate Disobedience Center and 350 New Hampshire had joined forces to start a campaign, No Coal No Gas, in 2019. They have made clear that they are not quitting their work with this success. They will continue working to close gas-burning power plants.

The demise of coal has been coming for a long time. GSP said it was motivated primarily by the fact that coal plants are not economical to run. While this statement might be intended to dampen the enthusiasm of environmental groups, there is probably at least some truth in it. The cost of producing electricity with coal has been increasing at just the same time that the cost of renewable energy from solar and wind power has declined to the point that it is the least expensive available.

The cost of batteries is also declining rapidly, new battery technologies are constantly being developed, and well-firmed renewable energy is expected to be as reliable than any more conventional form generating, at a much lower price, in the near future. We recommend NextEra Energy’s Investor Conference Report 2022, which it presented to its stockholders, as a more detailed source for this ().

We should also make clear that the Schiller plant and the Merrimack plant are not operating as they once had been, blowing smoke and soot out of their chimneys full-time. The Schiller plant, in fact, has not operated at all for a couple of years, though it seems to be capable of going back into use. The Merrimack plant is operating, though only part-time. Like some other coal plants, it is only economical to run when demand is high, in winter and summer.

Plant operators have seen the demise of coal coming for a long time. There have been no large coal-burning power plants built in the United States in over ten years according to the Energy Information Administration ().

The Sierra Club been working to close down coal plants for a long time and knows a bit about the subject. One of its graphics brings the issue into greater clarity, pointing out that 382 coal plants have closed or been scheduled to close in the near future, and there are only 148 left to go ().

We congratulate all involved in bringing about the agreement to close the Merrimack and Schiller plants. But we must continue to work on gas.

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