No Coal No Gas
End the Use of Coal in New England
Overview
Close Merrimack Station
No Coal No Gas is a campaign to shut down the last coal power plant in New England: in Bow, NH.
In just one hour, the Merrimack Generating Station emits as much carbon as the average American does in 26 years and pollution from the plant is making neighbors sick. Ratepayers pay millions of dollars in subsidies even though the plant provides less than 1% of our power.
The No Coal No Gas campaign is run by a powerful coalition of grassroots organizations! For more information click here.
Concerns
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We don’t need coal in New England to meet our energy demands. NH tax payers are forced to pay millions of dollars in subsidies just to keep the plant open. We pay the price of the climate crisis while the fossil fuel CEOs make billions of dollars.
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The coal plant pollutes the Merrimack River and is currently being sued by Sierra Club and Conservation Law Foundation. Native people can no longer fish or drink the water because of dams and heavy industry like the coal plant. Emissions from the coal plant cause asthma, heart attacks, and death.
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Burning coal causes climate change. Shutting down the plant for 1 hour is equivalent to cutting 26 years of personal emissions (from the average American). We need 100% renewable energy. Fracked methane gas is just as bad as coal and cannot be a replacement for coal.
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Building renewable energy infrastructure keeps jobs in New Hampshire. Workers at the coal plant deserve just treatment in the transition away from fossil fuels.
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We must hold our elected officials accountable in order for them to hold corporations accountable. We must vote for candidates who will champion climate justice and safety for us and for future generations. We must vote out elected officials who have allowed for the presence of harmful energy production in our communities, like the coal plant in Bow and who continue to support fossil fuel expansion like the Granite Bridge Pipeline.
Join the Coalition
Are you interested in helping us stop the burning of coal in New England? Fill out this form and we can plug you into our campaign.
Our Campaign
The No Coal No Gas campaign will secure a shut down date for the Merrimack Generating Station.
Our local volunteers focus on public education and local pressure on decision makers, while the regional campaign mounts high profile nonviolent direct actions targeting the owners of the plant and the grid operators. We kicked off the campaign in 2019 with the largest nonviolent direct action NH had seen in 40 years and followed it up by blockading thousands of tons of coal train shipments to Bow.
Our Plan
We are building the people-powered climate movement to:
Build community and unity!
Show people that a better world is possible! And we have the power to make it happen!
Shut down Merrimack
Station Coal Plant!
FAQs
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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.”
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There is no such thing as “Clean coal." The fossil fuel industry created this lie as propaganda to fool people into thinking coal is good for the environment. There is no way to capture even a significant amount of the carbon released from burning coal. There is no way to stop the toxic pollution caused by mining and burning coal.
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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 to fight their right to a good paying job.
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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 releases into the atmosphere. The scrubber cost NH electric rate payers hundreds of millions of dollars and we are still paying for it on our monthly electricity bills.
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No, New Hampshire does not mine coal or frack gas. Coal trains travel to NH carrying tens of thousands of tons of coal from coal mines in other states. Mining coal is disastrous for communities across America.
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Burning coal causes climate change and climate change hurts New Hampshire. Our coasts are flooding, our snow is melting and our farmers are facing horrible droughts. 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.
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The coal plant is owned by a company called Granite Shore Power which is owned by a hedge fund in Connecticut.