Massachusetts’ last coal plant to close next month

The largest coal-fueled plant in New England and the last remaining coal power station in Massachusetts is scheduled to close permanently on 1 June this year. 

Dynegy owns the 1,500 megawatt (MW) Brayton Point Power Station in Somerset, Massachusetts.

The Houston-based company said the decision to shut it down was made in 2013, before Dynegy owned the facility.

Low electricity prices and the high cost to maintain aging facilities led to the decision.

In a statement, the company said it is "working with the town, our union partners and the community to ensure the smoothest transition possible" and “appreciates how the Brayton Point team has upheld their professional standards of safety and performance.”

Environment groups – including the Conservation Law Foundation – have welcomed the move, after calling for the closure when the plant was identified as a leading source of air pollution in the region.

A number of coal power plants all across the country have closed or are scheduled to close due to a combination of higher operational costs, air pollution disincentives, state policies favouring renewables, and competition from natural gas generators.

According to the latest data from ISO New England (ISO-NE), coal accounts for just 2.4 per cent of New England’s generated power.

Furthermore, ISO-NE projects a number of coal, oil and nuclear power plants will be retired in the coming years.

Since 2013, more than 4,200 MW of primarily coal, oil and nuclear generating capacity have retired or announced retirement by mid-2020 – ISO-NE said.

According to a report released by the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA), coal production in the U.S. fell to its lowest level since 1978 in 2016. 

Fossil fuel production declined by 7 per cent from 2015 to 2016, with coal production – which decreased 18 per cent – cited as the main cause for the decline by the report.

Petroleum and natural gas production also declined, falling 5 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively.

Moreover, the “Boom and Bust 2017” report detailed that there was a global 48 per cent decline in planned coal power stations, with a 62 per cent fall in construction starts.

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