On Saturday, September 28th as part of the Global Climate Strikes Week of Action, hundreds of people from across New England showed up at the plant. We stood in a field across the street from the gigantic plant as we listened to speakers call for change and participated in singing and chanting songs of solidarity and power. Speakers demanded that our elected officials shut down the plant, stop the Granite Bridge Pipeline and sign onto a Green New Deal. They called for justice,  because this coal plant has led to pollution in the Merrimack River and higher asthma rates for the community near the plant. They talked about the need to move to renewable energy before sea level rise puts the seacoast under water.

We got the attention of local and national news outlets and brought people together to unite against burning coal in New Hampshire. In the largest act of civil disobedience in New Hampshire since the protests at the Seabrook Nuclear Plant in the 70’s, 69 individuals were arrested for trespassing onto the coal plant’s property.

There was a large militarized police presence, but the protesters were peaceful. At this stage, our leaders have failed to close dirty coal plants and the climate crisis is only getting worse. At this action, we took matters into our own hands to act on the climate crisis. We plan to continue to take action so that we may have a livable future.

In December 2019 and into the first few months of 2020, the coal plant received trains full of coal to add to their already massive coal piles. Saturday December 7th, an 80-car train full of coal rolled into Worcester, Massachusetts. Three separate groups of No Coal No Gas members successfully stalled the train from reaching Bow – for over 12 hours. The train was stalled in Worcester, again in Ayer, and one more time by the morning of December 6th in Hooksett. 

The coal eventually made it to the power plant, but this movement is growing in sophistication and power. In this first blockade, the coal was stopped for 11 hours. 24 people were arrested or issued court summons in 2 states. All it takes is a few people to bring the fossil fuel industry to a halt. 

After this initial train, various blockades were organized and stalled five different trains over the course of the next month. The blockades signaled to ISO-New England and the shareholders of the coal plant in Bow that our community is tired of letting the coal plant pollute our air, water, and climate. The No Coal No Gas coalition is continuing to build local opposition to the coal plant.