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new hampshire
We Don’t Need Fossil Fuel Peaker Plants
New Englanders are fighting for a just transition to a better electric system.
Sep 12, 2024
Our electric system is intentionally complicated. We are expected to receive our bills from the electric companies every month, pay without question, and have little say in what that money is used for.
In the New England, New York, and PJM regions, a portion of our electric bills every month goes to a mysterious “auction” in the “capacity markets” that promise power plants funding into the future even if they never operate. We are told this is the system we have to work within to ensure reliable energy. But that is not true.
Just because a system is in place does not mean it is the best way to operate. When I was in elementary school I learned how to use the lattice method for multiplication. My Mom taught me long multiplication. Both methods got me to the solution to the equation. So why can’t our electric grid think like this?
The time is now—for energy efficiency, community conservation, and clean energy in New England and beyond.
Our regional electric grid operators here in New England, ISO New England (ISO-NE), oversee a process called the “Forward Capacity Auction,” which enables fossil fuel power plants across the region to stay in operation. They claim that this market approach will ensure certain energy sources can stay on our grid for backup energy. Instead of being a mechanism for reliable energy supplies though, this auction has become a huge waste of money and an enabler of climate chaos. Right now this system keeps fossil fuel peaker plants online. Peaker plants are those oil, methane gas, and coal burning plants that are only called on during peak energy usage—like during a cold snap or heatwave—and thus only get turned on a handful of days a year. These plants currently get hundreds of thousands of dollars to mostly sit idle.
This doesn’t have to be the way we handle our electric grid. We can do better—we just have to imagine better.
The No Coal No Gas campaign showed up at the fossil fuel peaker plants in New Hampshire this August to demand a transition to clean energy, community conservation, and a better grid system. There are three peaker plants in New Hampshire without closing dates that are really harming our communities: Newington Station on the Piscataqua River, Lost Nation in Groveton, and White Lake in Tamworth. Our electric bills gave each of these plants hundreds of thousands of dollars last year despite the fact that they ran just a handful of times (10-15% of our bills fund the system this money came from). These three plants burn oil, methane gas, or jet fuel on the occasion that they do get turned on, resulting in all sorts of pollution impacting the communities they inhabit.
The thing is, if we changed the way we managed our energy grid, we wouldn’t need these peaker plants. They could easily be replaced with solar and battery storage. The regional electric grid operators could prioritize more immediate energy conservation resources both from the public and from large energy users to reduce the peaker energy load so that we don’t need as much backup on the grid. We could improve energy efficiency across the board to reduce the amount of energy we need as a region, even with an increase in electric vehicles. We could decrease electricity bills for people across the region if we didn’t need to promise all this money to peaker plants.
We can have clean energy and reliable energy—this isn’t a compromising situation. Transitioning off of fossil fuels does not make our energy less reliable—especially when those fossil fuels cause the devastating storms we’ve seen lately that cost a whole lot of money to recover from. On top of that, most of the failures on our grid, including huge price spikes like what the grid saw on December 24, 2022, were caused by fossil fuel plants. This situation is reflective of the problems other regional grids across the country are facing as climate change gets worse.
So what’s the hold up? ISO-NE board and staff members who say, “This is the way it’s been.” Elected officials and Granite Shore Power (who owns the New Hampshire peaker plants) who want to protect the profits of fossil fuel corporations. Grid operators who claim that electric grid management needs to be “fuel neutral” in their policies. The fact is, we need to stop thinking inside these tiny boxes we’ve given ourselves. If new ideas are not working in the system we have, it means it’s time to change the system.
When I watched friends drop a massive banner down the side of Newington’s smokestack just a few weeks ago, I thought about how they were not stuck in what doesn’t seem possible. Instead, they acted. They didn’t think a 175-foot banner would be impossible to make. They just made it. They showed the owners of that peaker plant that we can do difficult things, including transitioning off of oil and gas. They showed all of us that we can imagine a better future together.
I walk into energy regulatory meetings with experts even though the people there made those spaces inaccessible to the general public and community organizers. I have been working to understand the complexities of the energy system even though the people I’m challenging to think outside the system don’t want me there. I know a transition to clean energy and justice-focused solutions to the climate crisis won’t happen overnight, but I also know that people in positions of power are dragging their feet in the fossil-fueled past.
We don’t need fossil fuel peaker plants when much simpler solutions to energy reliability exist. The time is now—for energy efficiency, community conservation, and clean energy in New England and beyond. I know we can build an energy system that works for the everyday people who this grid is meant to serve.
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Educators Celebrate as Judge Strikes Down New Hampshire 'Banned Concepts' Law
One advocate said the federal judge "correctly decided that educators have the constitutional right to teach honest, accurate lessons and wasn't dragged into the clutches of the extreme right."
May 28, 2024
Education and free speech advocates cheered Tuesday's federal court ruling striking down New Hampshire's classroom censorship law, one of several so-called "white discomfort" bills passed in Republican-controlled states in recent years.
U.S. District Judge Paul J. Barbadoro's 50-page ruling says that the New England state's so-called "banned concepts" law is "unconstitutionally vague" and contains "viewpoint-based restrictions on speech that do not provide either fair warning to educators of what they prohibit or sufficient standards for law enforcement to prevent arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement."
Referring to statutory changes in the law, Barbadoro—an appointee of former President George H.W. Bush—wrote that "all told, the banned concepts speak only obliquely about the speech that they target and, in doing so, fail to provide teachers with much-needed clarity as to how the amendments apply to the very topics that they were meant to address."
"This lack of clarity sows confusion and leaves significant gaps that can only be filled in by those charged with enforcing the amendments, thereby inviting arbitrary enforcement," he added.
"The court's ruling today is a victory for academic freedom and an inclusive education for all New Hampshire students."
Deb Howes, president of the American Federation of Teachers-New Hampshire—which led the legal challenge to the law—said in a statement that "all New Hampshire teachers and students won big today" as the court "correctly decided that educators have the constitutional right to teach honest, accurate lessons and wasn't dragged into the clutches of the extreme right."
"The vague, unconstitutional divisive concepts law was a dreadful effort to limit truthful discussion about history, gender, race, and identity," Howes added. "The court agreed that the law unconstitutionally restricted what teachers can teach. This decision should put to rest the issue, and New Hampshire teachers will no longer have to live under a cloud of fear of getting fired for actually teaching accurate, honest education."
Similar to other "white discomfort laws" passed by Republican state legislators in states including Florida, Idaho, and Oklahoma amid the right-wing backlash against critical race theory and the broader racial justice reckoning, New Hampshire House Bill 544 bans K-12 educators from saying that the state and the United States are "fundamentally racist or sexist" or that "an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously."
Modeled after an executive order issued by former GOP President Donald Trump, the New Hampshire legislation was signed into law by Republican Gov. Chris Sununu in 2021 and also bans causing people to "feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race or sex."
"The court's ruling today is a victory for academic freedom and an inclusive education for all New Hampshire students," said Gilles Bissonnette, legal director of the ACLU of New Hampshire. "This unconstitutional classroom censorship law had no place in New Hampshire, and we are grateful to the court for stopping the culture of fear and apprehension perpetuated in Granite State schools under this law."
Disability Rights Center-New Hampshire litigation director Jennifer Eber said that "by discouraging open and honest discussion of difficult topics related to disability, this law posed a significant threat to the disability rights movement."
"Learning about the history of institutionalization and isolation to which disabled people have been subject is fundamental to building inclusive school communities and providing students with appropriate supports and services," Eber added.
Chris Erchull, an attorney at the advocacy group GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, said in a statement that "today's decision affirms the essential work of New Hampshire public school teachers to ensure students develop the knowledge and critical thinking skills they need to be successful and contribute to their communities."
"We're grateful the court recognized that setting vague conditions on what educators can say about race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability harms students with historically marginalized identities, including LGBTQ students," Erchull added. "Now, teachers can do the work of planning lessons and guiding student discussions without fear of losing their license if someone raises a vaguely defined banned topic in the classroom."
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The End of New England Coal Shows the People Can Stand Up to Fossil Fuels and Win
With coal’s end, a new age of cleaner air, healthier communities, and more renewable energy solutions is on the horizon.
Apr 04, 2024
An office with a view. It’s such a common phrase in the professional world and a goal many strive for. For 20 years, the view from my desk has been of the Merrimack Station coal plant in Bow, New Hampshire, as it spews pollution.
But today, the view is far better than the polluted air I—along with those throughout the greater Concord, New Hampshire, region—have been saddled with.
Now starts a new era, not only for New Hampshire but for all of New England. New England is officially going coal-free. After decades of work and tireless advocacy, Granite Shore Power has announced plans to retire New England’s last two coal plants: Merrimack and Schiller stations in New Hampshire, bringing 560 megawatts of dirty power offline.
It will take all of our continued efforts to forge the clean energy future we want in our communities.
For years, New Hampshire has reported some of the highest asthma rates in the country. Just above 12% of the state’s adults and children—136,025 people—have asthma. In addition to particle pollution, Merrimack and Schiller’s thermal discharges into the Merrimack and Piscataqua Rivers have disrupted aquatic ecosystems, leading to the proliferation of invasive species.
But our story is one seen in communities across the country.
The Merrimack and Schiller stations are the 380th and 381st coal plant retirements the Sierra Club has championed alongside community and climate advocates. While bad actors attempt to blame common sense rules and standards put forth by the Environmental Protection Agency, the fact is that these plants have retired because of one simple truth: People demand clean air and water.
In 2009, when we started the campaign to retire New England’s coal fleet, there were eight operating coal plants across the region. In 2010, air pollution from New England’s coal plants was responsible for an estimated 1,000 asthma attacks, 117 heart attacks, and 64 premature deaths. The only rooms that may find this acceptable are those occupied by coal barons and the politicians in their pockets.
I’m proud to be one of the millions who have stood up to the fossil fuel industry and used my voice to support stronger national standards for power plant pollution. Across the country, we’ve pushed the Biden administration to finally hold coal plant operators accountable for the harm they do. In the last three years alone, we’ve achieved stronger proposed standards for deadly soot pollution, climate-destabilizing carbon pollution, mercury and heavy metals, cross-state smog pollution, toxic coal ash, and much more.
By reducing air pollution from coal plants, these standards will prevent thousands of premature deaths, avoid asthma attacks and trips to the emergency room for respiratory problems, keep kids in school, and avoid lost workdays due to poor air quality. Simply put, they’re some of the strongest and most effective tools available to meet our goals to ensure a safe and habitable planet for future generations. These victories were not achieved overnight or without a fight, and our diverse, people-powered movement stood up to fierce opposition from the fossil fuel industry to make these standards a reality.
But ”less deadly” coal plants will never be acceptable. We demand—and deserve—clean air and water, and that’s what has driven the success of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign.
Across the country, the effort to retire coal plants has resulted in more than 54,000 lives saved and prevented more than 84,000 heart attacks and nearly 893,000 asthma attacks while saving more than $25 billion in healthcare costs nationwide. That’s why our movement not only thrives but also continues to grow.
Thankfully, just as it already has in 15 states, polluting, air-poisoning coal will soon come offline in the Granite State. With coal’s end, a new age of cleaner air, healthier communities, and more renewable energy solutions is on the horizon. There’s already an abundance of readily available clean energy alternatives to coal. With the help of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, states have kickstarted the growth of clean energy to power our homes and communities, creating millions of jobs along the way and lowering energy costs.
Since that landmark legislation was signed into law less than two years ago, there have already been more than $350 billion in clean energy investments announced across the nation. This investment has created new jobs—more than 270,000, to be exact—in everything from electric vehicles to battery storage systems and wind and solar power components. These new clean technology and renewable energy jobs are not only transformative for the workers they hire, they’re a commitment to helping future-proof our economy and ensure that America can and will lead the world economy and power our energy independence while addressing the climate crisis.
It will take all of our continued efforts to forge the clean energy future we want in our communities. As Merrimack Station moves from operational to retired, its presence outside my office window will no longer be a blight. Instead, it will signify coal power is waning and people’s power will never waver. A healthier New England and United States awaits.
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