Copyright The Boston Globe
Granite Shore Power, Merrimack Station’s owner, officially ceased operations on Sept. 12. A 2024 settlement between the company, the Conservation Law Foundation, the Sierra Club, and the Environmental Protection Agency over alleged Clean Water Act violations had required the facility to close by 2028. “Coal has been challenged in New England for twenty years,” said Dan Dolan, president of the New England Power Generators Association. “The market no longer sustains and justifies these types of facilities.” The station’s 438-megawatt output has steadily declined over the past two decades. Once operating at 70 to 80 percent of capacity in the early 2000s, Merrimack has failed to exceed 8 percent in the past six years, running only during periods of peak electricity demand. Older, larger coal plants like Merrimack Station, despite running only during peak periods, take a long time to power up, Dolan explained. More flexible, faster-starting natural gas “peaker” plants have now taken their place. ISO New England, the nonprofit organization that operates the region’s electricity grid and oversees the wholesale power market, explained that it dispatches the cheapest sources first and most often, meaning coal plants like Merrimack were called upon less frequently as more affordable options became available. Across New England, coal use fell by more than 90 percent between 2007 and 2017, displaced by cheaper natural gas and renewable power from sources including solar and wind. Entering the first New England winter without coal, the impact on the grid will be minimal. Merrimack Station accounted for just 0.22 percent of the region’s electricity generation in 2024, according to ISO New England. That shortfall can be replaced by renewables, natural gas, and power imports from neighboring states. The shutdown marks the end of a long, contentious chapter in environmental activism. In addition to litigation, Merrimack Station has been a flashpoint for protests for years. The No Coal No Gas campaign, spearheaded by the environmental organizations 350 New Hampshire and the Climate Disobedience Center, began in 2019 with intent to get the station shut down. Activists staged a series of civil disobedience actions, including attempts to “liberate” coal before combustion, blockading shipments, even occupying the station’s smokestack. Over the years, the campaign has resulted in over a hundred arrests and drawn national attention to New England’s lingering dependence on fossil fuels. “We’re very excited,” said Rebecca Beaulieu with 350 New Hampshire, referring to the plant’s shut down. In 2023, Merrimack Station failed an emissions test that found particulate matter levels 70 percent above federal limits, along with elevated mercury and nitrogen oxide, and for every hour the plant operated, it emitted more carbon dioxide than the average American does in 26 years. “Knowing the plant will never power up again, even for an hour, is a huge relief,” Beaulieu said. While the closure brings uncertainty for Merrimack Station employees, many of whom have been transferred to other Granite Shore Power sites, both activists and the utility hope that the station’s next phase will present new jobs and economic opportunities for New Hampshire. “The historic agreement with the EPA paves the way for first-of-their-kind ‘Renewable Energy Parks’ in the state,” Granite Shore Power said in a statement last year. Both Merrimack Station and Schiller Station — another Granite Shore Power facility that ended coal operations in 2020 — are slated to be converted into renewable energy and battery storage sites. The company says roughly 400 acres of land and existing grid infrastructure will make the transition possible. Granite Shore Power credited the Inflation Reduction Act, passed under President Joe Biden, for helping make its renewable-energy plans financially feasible. But with the Trump administration moving to roll back renewable-energy incentives, the policy environment for such projects has grown uncertain. Just weeks after Merrimack Station shuttered, the administration announced that the Department of Energy would invest $625 million in coal-related projects aimed at reviving the industry. Federal officials have not commented on the plant’s closure. Looking beyond coal, the No Coal No Gas campaign is next turning its sights on oil and gas fueled peaker plants that operate during peak demand times, including two kerosene turbines at the Merrimack Station site. “These inefficient oil and gas facilities receive monthly ratepayer subsidies, but sit idle most of the year,” the campaign said in a statement, arguing that between their high costs and extra pollutants emitted, peaker plants need to go.
