Peabody Power Plant Battle Heats Up As 'Pause' Nears 30 Days

PEABODY, MA — As a pause in the plans to build a 60-megawatt gas and oil power plant in Peabody nears 30 days, climate advocacy groups are planning to deliver a petition to the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company behind the project demanding that the utility abandon it or replace it only using clean energy sources.

Breathe Clean North Shore, the Massachusetts Climate Action Network and Community Action Works plan to deliver the petition to the utility's Ludlow offices Friday morning — one month after the project was delayed amid a sudden swell of community outcry about its potential safety, climate and quality of life impact on Peabody residents and those in surrounding communities.

Peabody Municipal Light Company, which is part of the MMWEC networks, said the plant — which has been in the works since 2015 — is necessary to meet surge capacity requirements in a reliable way that sources such as solar, wind and hydro cannot necessarily provide.

The "pause" was designed to at least explore the possibility of other sources that still meet the grid's capacity needs. (EDITOR'S NOTE: An MMWEC spokesperson clarified that the pause is for a "minimum" of 30 days and that there is no hard expiration date for it at this time. A previous version of this story has been updated to reflect that.)

"Can we find a way to develop a needed capacity resource that isn't fossil fuel-fired but still reliable in times of need?" Ron DeCurzio, CEO of MMWEC asked in a statement announcing the pause on May 11. "Is it worth taking another look at whether advancements in technology make a different approach possible today?"

The power company said it would spend at least the next 30 days meeting with stakeholders, including regulators, state officials and neighbors to "consider alternatives and assess their feasibility" before the board of directors reviewed the information and chose whether to try and move forward with the original project, set for the Waters Street substation location near Route 128 and the Peabody/Danvers line.

Advocacy groups urge in the petition that the plan would: "worsen air quality that will make Peabody residents more vulnerable to diseases and add a new polluting facility to overburdened Environmental Justice communities living near the proposed site.

"Exacerbate the climate crisis and undermine Municipal Light Plants' ongoing effort to combat climate change and transition to a clean energy future.

"Create a stranded asset and leave ratepayers paying off the debt after the plant ceases operations."

The groups plan to hold a virtual news conference after delivering the petition that they said will "lay out the significance of this petition, discuss the need for MMWEC to engage the community in a meaningful way and outline our next steps in advocating for the replacement of this proposal with clean alternatives."

The plant is designed to provide surge capacity power to Peabody, Boylston, Holden, Hull, Mansfield, Marblehead, Shrewsbury, South Hadley, Sterling, Wakefield, West Boylston and Russell.

The MMWEC sought to clarify what a spokesperson called any "misinformation about the project" with a recent fact sheet provided to Patch.

In it, the power company said the project would produce fewer emissions than 94 percent of similar peaking resources in the region and would result in a "net reduction of carbon emissions" when it is running.

"Without the capacity resources, grid reliability is at risk, which could result in brownouts on the hottest days of the year — meaning no air conditioning or respiratory equipment a health-compromised person might need," the power company said.

The company also disputed assertions the plant will produce up to 51,000 tons of carbon emissions each year.

"As a capacity resource, the project is expected to run just 239 hours per year, producing approximately 7,500 tons of carbon emissions per year, less than the city of Boston produces in a single day," the MMWEC said.

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

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