Somerset residents gather in front of the plant. (Photo credit: Shanna Cleveland, CLF)
Massachusetts moved one step closer to a coal-free future this week as NRG, owner the Somerset Station power plant located in Somerset, MA, announced that it will shut the plant down permanently, effective immediately. The 85-year-old plant shut down initially in January 2010, after CLF and Somerset residents brought an appeal with regard to NRG’s plans to repower the plant using an experimental technology known as plasma gasification. Earlier this month, NRG asked the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MA DEP) to withdraw approvals for those plans, saying the company had decided not to pursue its plasma gasification project that would have used fuels including coal, construction and demolition debris and woody biomass. MA DEP granted the request on February 18. More >
Frank Haggerty
We need the abandoned toxic Cannon Street Power Plant in New Bedford cleaned up before a renewable energy ocean port is built next door to the plant .
The House in 1996 passed a plan that contained $300,000 to study the possibility of converting the toxic abandoned New Bedford power plant. The Cannon Street clean up documents already exist and are said to weigh twenty pounds.
Most private or nonprofit groups are unable to build any project on the site of Commonwealth Electric’s closed Cannon Street power station which contains fuel oil, tar, coal tar, cyanide, lead paint, asbestos, guano, asbestos, mold and heavy metals. No one wants to have to pay for the clean up of the site.
The CLF should leverge stimulus funds to clean up this plant .How can 600 million in stimulus funds go to new renewable energy projects while leaving a toxic abandoned power plant in New Bedford . This power plant is a hugh carbon foot print in the New Bedford area and should be refered to as a carbon boot !