New Hampshire power plant operator Granite Shore Power LLC on March 27 announced an agreement with the US Environmental Protection Agency to close two of its power plants, marking the end of coal-fired generation in New England.
The 100-MW Schiller plant in Rockingham County, NH, will cease operations by 2025 and the 460-MW Merrimack plant in Merrimack County, NH, will be retired by 2028, the Sierra Club said in a separate announcement.
"From our earliest days as owners and operators, we have been crystal clear; while our power occasionally is still on during New England's warmest days and coldest nights, we were firmly committed to transitioning our facilities away from coal and into a newer, cleaner energy future," Granite Shore Power CEO Jim Andrews said.
The Merrimack Station, in Bow, NH, has long been a target of environmentalists. In 2019, nearly 70 people were arrested for trespassing after 120 activists marched on the plant, demanding an end to its operations. In February 2023, regulators at the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services received a test report from Merrimack Station revealing that the facility emitted particulate matter at a rate of 73% more than was permitted.
Merrimack Station, which began operations in 1960, had cleared ISO New England's 2020 capacity auction, with plans to run until 2024. The power plant ran on two steam turbines to produce 306,019 MWh of net generation in 2022, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
"Today we celebrate as, at long last, New Hampshire joins our coal-free neighbors across New England," said Cathy Corkery, senior organizer of the New Hampshire Sierra Club. "Local communities have long unjustly shouldered the burden of health and safety concerns caused by Merrimack Station and Schiller Station's pollution." New Hampshire is now the 16th state to go coal-free, according to the Sierra Club.
Schiller Station, in Portsmouth, NH, began operating in 1952 and runs primarily on coal and biomass. Granite Shore Power plans to turn the plant into a battery storage system. The company hopes that the refitted Schiller Station can help store power generated from offshore wind projects near Martha's Vineyard and eventually the Gulf of Maine.
"The New Hampshire Seacoast is an area of high-energy demand and through the repowering of Schiller Station, we will provide carbon-neutral power to support the businesses and families of New Hampshire. Our facilities are ideally situated near the infrastructure necessary to transition the region to the next generation of energy resources," Andrews said.
Granite Shore Power is a joint venture between commodities trader Castleton Commodities International LLC and asset manager Atlas Holdings LLC. The company also owns the 400-MW Newington plant in Rockingham County, NH, which runs on fuel oil, the 14-MW Lost Nation combustion turbine in Coos County, NH, and the 18-MW White Lake combustion in Carroll County, NH, according to Granite Shore Power's website.
New Hampshire last released its climate goals in 2009, calling for an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990s levels by 2050. The state is expected to release updated greenhouse gas emissions targets and climate goals in 2025.
