New Hampshire - Activists with the No Coal No Gas campaign installed art at four of the dirtiest and least economical power plants in the state this morning. Each of these facilities is owned by Granite Shore Power (GSP) a wholly owned subsidiary of the Connecticut-based private equity firm Atlas Holdings. In the afternoon, the campaign hosted a festival in Pembroke, across the river from GSP’s Merrimack Station - the region’s last coal-fired power plant.
At Newington Station, two climbers in safety gear attached a 175 foot banner reading “No Coal No Gas” to a platform facing the Piscataqua River. They descended the ladder where Newington police detained a total of five activists. The five were brought to Newington Police Station and given orders to attend arraignment in Portsmouth District court in October for criminal trespass.
"We lose when these power plants run, and we lose when they don't," said Lena Greenberg with the No Coal No Gas campaign. Peaker plants are only activated during times of peak energy demand: the hottest and coldest days of the year when regional energy use hits its highest levels. In addition, fossil fuel peaker plants are the least efficient, dirtiest, and most expensive sources of energy on our grid. Greenberg continued, “When these fossil fuel peakers run, they crank out pollution that harms our communities and the planet. When peakers sit idle, ratepayers shoulder the cost of their continued existence when we could be investing in renewables and energy conservation."
The festival celebrates five years of the No Coal No Gas campaign and Granite Shore Power’s announcement it will close the last coal plant In New England at Merrimack Station. Now, the group has their sights set on shutting down all the fossil-fuel peaker plants in the region. Despite not running for months or years at a time, the regional electric grid operator ISO-NE uses money from ratepayers’ utility bills to hand millions of dollars to Granite Shore Power to keep these peaker plants online. In 2024, fossil fuel peaker plants were promised nearly $350 million for June 1, 2027 thru May 31, 2028. Activists with No Coal No Gas created art at the White Lake oil plant in Tamworth that read “Last year this oil-burning power plant cost us $331K.” Others planted native goldenrod and hung a banner reading “Peaker by Peaker. Plant by Plant” at Lost Nation oil plant in Groveton.
“We will shut down these peaker plants and usher in a clean, renewable energy future that is good for all of us,” said Eleanor Reid, an NCNG activist from Hanover. “We can’t let fossil fuel companies keep putting their profits ahead of the people and the planet. If they won’t transition our energy system, then we will.”
When the region’s fossil fuel peaker plants are activated, they burn anything from fracked gas to kerosene to jet fuel. They damage the nearby environment, cause health issues, and contribute to the climate crisis. The current regional energy system incentivizes private equity companies to buy up these facilities, which leads to deferred maintenance, profiteering, and owners who care more about their investors than the future of our communities.
Later in the day, activists gathered in a park in Pembroke for a Fossil Fuel Free Future Festival to celebrate the anticipated closure of Merrimack Station coal plant and advocate for an electric grid that works for everyday people. The festival featured community-building, live music, art projects, climate literacy, community conservation information, and boating on the Merrimack River.
"We secured a shut down date for the last coal-fired power plant in New England," said Kendra Ford with 350NH Action and the No Coal No Gas campaign. "Not only is the plant going to stop burning coal, but it plans to transition to solar energy and battery storage. The fossil fuel industry has been telling us all that this is not possible, but the reality is we have the tools we need to power our homes without polluting, greedy fossil fuel companies. There is so much potential in this coal plant, and the other fossil fuel peaker plants in our region. There is potential to right their wrongs - clean up pollution, get input from their communities, bring clean energy jobs to the locals."
No Coal No Gas activists are focused on transforming the electricity grid to one that works for everyday people instead of fossil fuel millionaires and private equity. In addition to shutting down the fossil fuel peaker plants in the regional they are paving the way for community conservation and demand response - mechanisms that will reduce the overall energy use in New England so that fewer peakers will be necessary to supply future energy needs.
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The No Coal No Gas Campaign formed in 2019 as a regional coalition of affinity groups, partner organizations, and individuals. We are a direct action campaign dedicated to ending the burning of fossil fuels in New England, beginning with coal. We build community in order to build power to ensure a just, democratic transition to the energy future New England needs.
