While we came out that day last October to call for a just transition for the coal plant and the surrounding community, we were swiftly reminded of the power that the state has to repress free speech, and the lengths that it will go to to stop even symbolic representations of the future we want (and need) to create.
As the lists of permit violations and indications of financial insolvency continue to grow, community pressure to shut down the coal plant also builds. The No Coal No Gas campaign has shown up at the plant, in the surrounding community, and at energy regulatory meetings, determined to shut down the polluting coal plant.
No Coal No Gas and our friends from across New England submitted hundreds of comments opposing ISO New England’s FCA 17 results. ISO-NE (Independent systems operator - New England) and FERC (federal energy regulatory commission) continue to claim our objections to fossil fuel subsidies on the grounds of negative climate impacts are “beyond the scope” of this proceeding - but that doesn’t deter us. We will continue to put pressure on ISO and FERC until we stop burning coal and gas in this region. Below are some of the highlights from No Coal No Gas’s official filings to FERC and letters to the office of public participation.
The No Coal No Gas Campaign has shown since its start that dirty fossil fuel peaker plants like Merrimack Station in Bow, NH, are not only unnecessary for grid reliability, but actually threaten grid reliability by ignoring how fossil generators, by damaging climate, increase risks of extreme events…
