During the summer of 2019, 350NH and the No Coal, No Gas coalition liberated more than 500 pounds of coal from the Merrimack Generating station. We dumped it on the Statehouse lawn and held a press conference calling for our elected officials to end the use of coal in New Hampshire.

Then, on Saturday September 28th people from across New England descended on Bow by the hundreds. We rallied in a field across the street from the gigantic plant calling, singing and chanting. 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 is polluting the Merrimack River and making neighbors sick. We talked about the need to move to renewable energy before sea level rise puts the seacoast under water.

69 of us marched onto the plant property with the intent to liberate more coal and shut down operations and were arrested at the largest act of civil disobedience in New Hampshire since the protests at Seabrook 40 years ago. National news covered the event and a police helicopter flew overhead despite the nonviolence practiced by all in attendance.

That winter, we blockaded 6 coal train shipments bringing 10’s of thousands of tons of coal to New Hampshire and dozens more activists were arrested. These blockades signal to ISO-New England and the owners of the coal plant that we will no longer stand idly by while they destroy our air, water and climate. We scaled bridges, camped overnight and literally stopped the fossil fuel industry in its tracks.

In 2020, we launched a local 350NH chapter in Bow to build local opposition to the plant and hired an organizer from Bow to lead this work. Our partners at 350NH Action endorsed more than 60 candidates who pledged to end the use of coal and elected 20 to the NH State House.

The No Coal, No Gas coalition is continuing to build local and regional opposition to the plant and we will not stop until we receive a shutdown date for the Merrimack Generating station. Learn more about the coalition here.