![]() ![]() Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren say they oppose the construction of any new fossil fuel plants, and Attorney General Maura Healey’s office has repeatedly raised concerns about air quality, environmental justice and the lack of community input. In the last few years, a broad coalition of environmentalists, public health officials, local residents and elected officials have come out against the peaker plant. Unlike larger investor-owned utilities like National Grid or Eversource, munis don’t need to generate a profit, and they can own and operate the power plants that generate electricity for their customers.įourteen munis originally signed on to the Peabody project, though two - Holyoke Gas and Electric and the Chicopee Municipal Lighting Plant - backed out of their contracts in April 2021. The Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company, better known as MMWEC (pronounced EM-wick) is a nonprofit quasi-state agency that works on behalf of 20 municipal utilities. Often called municipal light plants or “munis,” these small utilities serve specific towns or cities. With a 55-megawatt output, the plant did not require a full environmental review, though opponents have asked the state for one. It’s hard to predict exactly how often ISO New England will ask to turn it on, but the utility behind the plant estimates it will run about 239 hours per year during the next few years, and then slowly decrease after that as battery technology improves and Massachusetts laws limiting greenhouse gas emissions kick in. The Peabody peaker is permitted to run a maximum of 1,250 hours annually, but will probably operate much less than that. But it will have the ability to switch to low-sulfur diesel fuel should gas become unavailable. When it runs, it will primarily burn natural gas. It will use existing gas pipelines and electrical substation infrastructure, but it will require a small gas compressor on site. The new facility will have a 90-foot smoke stack equipped with the latest in sound and air pollution mitigation technologies, making it quieter and cleaner than the other two plants. ![]() The plant, which will cost about $85 million to build, will sit on a small plot of land near two existing gas and oil-fired peaking power plants. Technically called Project 2015A, the Peabody peaker plant is a proposed 55 megawatt natural gas and diesel fuel-burning power plant. (Courtesy of The Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company) What is the Peabody peaker plant? A rendering of the proposed Peabody Peaker Plant. Peaker plants, by contrast, make most of their money by being “on call,” ready to fire up and feed electricity into the grid with minimal notice when demand is highest. Those power facilities - like the Mystic Generating Station or Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant - get paid by the grid operator, ISO New England, for the electricity they produce. Peaker plants operate in a different energy market than the traditional power plants that produce the bulk of the electricity used in New England. They tend to operate a few hundred hours a year, and often are older, more polluting facilities. Whether you’re familiar with this proposed power plant and have questions, or you’re hearing about it for the first time, here’s what you need to know: What is a “peaker” plant?Ī "peaker" plant is a facility that only turns on during times of peak electricity demand. Project opponents say plans for the so-called "peaker" plant are antithetical to the state's goals, and that the utility group behind the project has not been transparent in their proceedings.īut work on the plant has continued despite the protests, and project managers say the facility will be up and running by 2023. So why, in 2022, is the state allowing the construction of a new natural gas and diesel-fired power plant in Peabody? Massachusetts also has strong climate laws and has committed to hitting “net zero” emissions by 2050. In fact, to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, countries need to actively decommission a lot of the oil, gas and coal infrastructure that already exists. This week’s new climate report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is very clear that the world needs to stop building new fossil fuel infrastructure immediately. ![]() The site of a proposed 'peaker' power plant in Peabody, which would be built next to two older gas-fired facilities. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |