Difference between revisions of "Merrimack Station"
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| − | '''Merrimack Station''' is a coal-fired power station owned and operated by [[Northeast Utilities]] near Bow, New Hampshire. One unit of the plant was built in 1960, the other in 1968. In 2008, the future of the plant became the subject of controversy when Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSCNH) revealed that the projected cost of new scrubbers had increased from $250 million to $457 million.<ref name="Survival">Stacy Morford, [http://solveclimate.com/blog/20090305/survival-strategy-aging-coal-plant-new-hampshires-big-dig "Survival Strategy for an Aging Coal Plant,"] Climate Progress, 3/5/09</ref> | + | '''Merrimack Station''' is a coal-fired power station owned and operated by [[Northeast Utilities]] near Bow, New Hampshire. One unit of the plant was built in 1960, the other in 1968. In 2008, the future of the plant became the subject of controversy when Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSCNH) revealed in August that the projected cost of new mercury-control scrubbers had increased from $250 million to $457 million.<ref name="Survival">Stacy Morford, [http://solveclimate.com/blog/20090305/survival-strategy-aging-coal-plant-new-hampshires-big-dig "Survival Strategy for an Aging Coal Plant,"] Climate Progress, 3/5/09</ref> The scrubbers would reduce mercury emissions by 80 percent.<ref name="Survival"/> |
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| + | An ad hoc group of 24 businesses, led by Stonyfield Farms CEO Gary Hirshberg and including inventor Dean Kammen and Timberland President Jeffrey Schwartz, petitioned the state to reconsider the scrubbers.<ref name="Survival"/> | ||
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| + | Energy analyst Symbiotic Strategies LLC made an assessment of the future costs to comply with increased greenhouse gas, mercury and other requirements. It came up with an additional cost of between $864 million and $2.5 billion. The impact on ratepayers would be three to six times higher than PSNH's estimated increase of one-third of a cent per kWh for the scrubber project, according to the analysis.<ref name="Survival"/> | ||
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| + | On March 13, 2009, the New Hampshire Senate Energy, Environment and Economic Development Committee held a hearing on a bill that would order a review of the scrubbers.<ref name="Survival"/> About 150 trade union members attended the hearing wearing T-Shirts that said “Don’t scrub my job.”<ref name="Union Leader">Gary Rayno, [http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Power+plant+study+plan+fuels+scrubber+debate&articleId=e620fc49-eaa2-4a0e-8240-db5f476189de "Power plant study plan fuels scrubber debate,"] Union Leader, 3/14/09</ref> Environmentalists supported the study, as did Hirschberg's businesses coalition. Several speakers saying Merrimack Station should be closed. Representatitives of the Concord and Nashua chambers of commerce testified against the bill, as did labor groups and officials from Bow, Hooksett and Manchester.<ref name="Union Leader"/> | ||
<googlemap version="0.9.4" zoom="15" lat="43.141833" lon="-71.46877" | <googlemap version="0.9.4" zoom="15" lat="43.141833" lon="-71.46877" | ||
Revision as of 22:04, 18 March 2009
{{#badges: CoalSwarm| Climate change}} Merrimack Station is a coal-fired power station owned and operated by Northeast Utilities near Bow, New Hampshire. One unit of the plant was built in 1960, the other in 1968. In 2008, the future of the plant became the subject of controversy when Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSCNH) revealed in August that the projected cost of new mercury-control scrubbers had increased from $250 million to $457 million.[1] The scrubbers would reduce mercury emissions by 80 percent.[1]
An ad hoc group of 24 businesses, led by Stonyfield Farms CEO Gary Hirshberg and including inventor Dean Kammen and Timberland President Jeffrey Schwartz, petitioned the state to reconsider the scrubbers.[1]
Energy analyst Symbiotic Strategies LLC made an assessment of the future costs to comply with increased greenhouse gas, mercury and other requirements. It came up with an additional cost of between $864 million and $2.5 billion. The impact on ratepayers would be three to six times higher than PSNH's estimated increase of one-third of a cent per kWh for the scrubber project, according to the analysis.[1]
On March 13, 2009, the New Hampshire Senate Energy, Environment and Economic Development Committee held a hearing on a bill that would order a review of the scrubbers.[1] About 150 trade union members attended the hearing wearing T-Shirts that said “Don’t scrub my job.”[2] Environmentalists supported the study, as did Hirschberg's businesses coalition. Several speakers saying Merrimack Station should be closed. Representatitives of the Concord and Nashua chambers of commerce testified against the bill, as did labor groups and officials from Bow, Hooksett and Manchester.[2]
<googlemap version="0.9.4" zoom="15" lat="43.141833" lon="-71.46877" type="satellite"> </googlemap>
Contents
Plant Data
- Owner: Public Service Company of New Hampshire
- Parent Company: Northeast Utilities
- Plant Nameplate Capacity: 459 MW (Megawatts)
- Units and In-Service Dates: 114 MW (1960), 346 MW (1968)
- Location: 97 River Rd., Bow, NH 03304
- GPS Coordinates: 43.140833, -71.46777
- Coal Consumption:
- Coal Source:
- Number of Employees:
Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 3,530,530 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions: 32,726 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
- 2006 NOx Emissions: 4,966 tons
- 2005 Mercury Emissions: 130 lb.
Articles and Resources
Sources
- ↑ Jump up to: 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Stacy Morford, "Survival Strategy for an Aging Coal Plant," Climate Progress, 3/5/09
- ↑ Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 Gary Rayno, "Power plant study plan fuels scrubber debate," Union Leader, 3/14/09
- Existing Electric Generating Units in the United States, 2005, Energy Information Administration, accessed Jan. 2009.
- Environmental Integrity Project, "Dirty Kilowatts: America’s Most Polluting Power Plants", July 2007.
- Facility Registry System, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, accessed Jan. 2009.
- Carbon Monitoring for Action database, accessed Feb. 2009.
Related SourceWatch Articles
- Existing U.S. Coal Plants
- New Hampshire and coal
- Northeast Utilities
- United States and coal
- Global warming
External Articles
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