We shut down the last coal plant in New England

We won!

Our grassroots resistance to coal alongside regulatory and legal battles forced Granite Shore Power to choose a clean energy future for the site of their two formerly coal-fired facilities in New England: in Bow and Portsmouth.

We’ve named a new goal to replace the one we just achieved: shut down ALL the fossil-fuel-fired power plants that run occasionally (the peaker plants) in New England. This will free up our ratepayer dollars that are used to keep the peakers on standby so they can be used instead to hasten a just energy transition.

 

Our Campaign

We are No Coal No Gas. We shut down the last coal powered plant in New England - now, we are going to take on the fossil fuel peaker plants that run only during the times of highest energy use. A peaking power plant typically only runs at the times of highest demand for energy - the peak. Right now, peakers in New England are some of the dirtiest, least efficient, and most expensive energy sources. The forward capacity market (the same system that sends millions of dollars to the coal plant in Bow) promised $350 million to fossil fuel peaker plants in their 2024 auction.

We have clean, cost-effective alternatives to these peaker plants - like energy storage, solar, wind, geothermal, energy efficiency, and demand response. We can make different choices out of abundant creativity, connections, and possibilities. We know we have a lot of power here to make a difference. We can take care of each other. 

 

Sign up for Updates from No Coal No Gas

Sign up here to learn about all-calls, onboarding sessions, and upcoming actions.

 

Issues we’re paying attention to

  • We don’t need fossil fuel Peaker plants in New England to meet our energy demands. New England taxpayers are forced to pay millions of dollars in subsidies just to keep these plants open “just in case.” $350 million were earmarked by our electrical grid operators for Peaker plants in their 2024 auction.

  • Peaker power plants are disproportionately in and near low-income communities and communities of color, impacting the health of tens of millions of households across the country. Long-term exposure to sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and fine particulate matter from fossil fuel peakers can cause asthma, heart disease, chronic kidney disease, diminished fertility, miscarriages, and more.

  • Burning coal, oil, and gas causes climate change. We need 100% renewable energy. Fracked methane gas is just as bad as coal and cannot be a replacement for coal.

  • We know that electrical workers are essential for the energy transition and that the disparity between worker’s pay and CEO compensation is outrageous. We will keep our eye and our actions on how people can be paid for the essential work that they do.

  • We must hold our elected officials accountable in order for them to hold corporations accountable. We need candidates who will champion climate justice and safety for us and for future generations. Currently, most of our elected officials take money from fossil fuel companies and utility companies. Many of those politicians then turn around and support fracked gas as a “bridge fuel” and hydrogen as a “clean energy resource” even though they are NOT. This needs to change.

HEALTH