The Merrimack Station, located in Bow, New Hampshire, officially ceased operations on September 12th. It was the last coal-fired power plant in New England.
A 2024 settlement between the plant’s owner and a coalition of environmental groups as well as the Environmental Protection Agency required the facility to close by 2028 because of alleged Clean Water Act violations. The early shutdown of the plant is an indication of how coal has become economically untenable in New England.
The station’s 438-megawatt output had steadily declined over the past 20 years. In the early 2000s, Merrimack Station operated at 70 to 80% capacity. Over the past six years, it hasn’t exceeded 8%, running only during periods of peak electricity demand.
Merrimack Station and Schiller Station, another coal plant in Portsmouth, New Hampshire that ceased operations in 2020, are slated to be converted into renewable energy and battery storage sites. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 made these plans economically feasible. With the Trump administration rolling back renewable-energy incentives, the future of these plans has grown uncertain.
New Hampshire’s No Coal No Gas activist campaign played a major role in the fate of these facilities. That campaign is now turning towards oil- and gas-fired peaker plants that operate during peak demand times. These facilities receive monthly ratepayer subsidies but sit idle most of the year. When they operate, they do so with extra-high pollution at extra-high costs.
