No Coal, No Gas
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Overview
Close Merrimack Generating Station
In July of 2019, 350NH joined the No Coal No Gas coalition aimed to shut down the coal-fired power plant in Bow, New Hampshire.
The Merrimack Generating Station in Bow, New Hampshire is the last major coal-fired power plant in New England without a shut down date. In just one hour, this plant emits as much carbon as the average American does in 26 years. If we have any chance of stopping the climate crisis, we cannot continue to burn coal. New Hampshire must invest in wind energy, solar energy, and weatherization or more people will suffer and die.
Our Campaign
In August 2019, we launched the campaign to end the burning of coal in New England, once and for all. The coal plant in Bow, New Hampshire is the last major coal fired power plant without a shut down date, and our campaign aims to change that. Through grassroots organizing, we started a 350NH Chapter in Bow and will continue to put pressure on the systems that are keeping the coal plant running.
Petition
To: Governor Sununu, the Public Utilities Commission and ISO New England
The Merrimack Generating Station is the last major coal burning plant in New England without a shut down date. The station is set to receive $188 million in subsidies at the expense of New Hampshire taxpayers. This is money that could be better spent supporting renewable energy expansion in New Hampshire. We do not need this plant to meet our electricity needs. The Merrimack Generating Station is polluting our air, our water and our climate. Burning coal is not sustainable or practical. The health of our people and water is at risk every day the the plant burns coal. New Hampshire can and must do better for our economy, our environment, and the communities that we care for.
News
FAQ
In just one hour, this coal plant emits as much carbon into the atmosphere as the average person emits in 26 years of their life. Carbon is a pollutant and contributes to the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which propel climate change. The carbon levels in the atmosphere today are already past an amount deemed “safe.”
“Clean coal” comes from clean coal technologies aimed to capture carbon from the atmosphere. The reality is that even capturing some of the carbon is inadequate to mitigate all the pollution that comes from coal. It does nothing to negate the problems with mountaintop removal where entire ecosystems are destroyed in order to extract coal. “Clean coal” is a lie and misconception aimed to fool people into thinking it is good for the environment. It is not.
We are not members of the Union that represents the workers at the Merrimack Generating Station. When the plant sets a closing date, the union will know what is best for their workers and we will stand alongside them so they get the demands they ask for from the company.
Yes. In 2012, the plant got scrubbers to reduce their mercury and sulfur output. These scrubbers did nothing to negate the large amount of carbon this plant releasesinto the atmosphere.
No, New Hampshire does not frack gas or mine coal. Coal trains travel to NH yearly each carrying 10 thousand tons of coal. All our fossil fuels not only negatively impact our our state but hurt the communities that they were extracted from.
It is 2019 – we cannot afford to continue to burn coal if we are to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis. Here on the seacoast of New Hampshire, families and businesses are feeling the effects of the climate crisis experience flooding that continually gets worse Across the world low income communities and communities of color feel the impacts of the climate crisis at a disproportionate rate. The owners of the plant are profiting off of the destruction of our land, air, and climate and we cannot continue business as usual.
