Proposed Peabody Power Plant Defended, Challenged At Public Forum

PEABODY, MA — The first major public forum in the six-year history of the planned Peabody peaker power plant Tuesday night included more than four hours of utility officials laying out the benefits and necessity of the proposed fossil fuel-powered facility, while those concerned about the environmental and health impacts of the plant called for additional community input before a decision is made on the project's future.

Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company officials delivered an extensive presentation on the cost-effectiveness of owning the plant to meet surge-capacity requirements in case of extreme heat and cold compared to buying that energy off the greater grid or using less-reliable sources such as wind, solar or battery power.

Officials argued having the 55-megawatt oil and gas peaker plant — which they say will only run about 239 hours per year and produce fewer emissions than 94 percent of similar resources in the region — will actually help the 13 municipalities that draw energy from the plant use more renewable energy sources because having the reliable backup will allow it to use more clean sources for primary energy needs.

"While we certainly pledge to continue adding renewable resources to our power portfolio in compliance with de-carbonization thresholds put forward by the Commonwealth," Peabody Municipal Power Plant Chairman Tom D'Amato said, "Our Board firmly believes at this point in time that Project 2015A is fundamentally sound, well-grounded and, frankly, vital to serving our statutory obligation as a load-serving entity."

The project entered a "pause" of at least 30 days on May 11 amid a growing outcry from public officials and climate advocates about a lack of transparency in the proposal, which moved along the planning stages for years in relative obscurity until recent months.

MMWEC CEO Ron DeCurzio said two changes to the proposal made through feedback gained during the "pause" are the elimination of one of the 200,000-gallon oil tanks and the switch from ammonia to urea at the Waters Street substation site near the Danvers line.

Utility officials added that they will work toward shifting the primary power source from natural gas to "green hydrogen" over the course of the peaker plant's proposed 30-year life span to make it ultimately a carbon-neutral facility. But they later allowed it could be years before that energy source becomes viable.

Most of the two-hour question-and-answer session that followed consisted of those attending demanding further reconsideration of the plan and many more conversations about potential alternatives before the "pause" is lifted.

"Environmental justice — a key part of it — is that front-line communities have a seat at the table, a voice in the conversation and input in the decision-making," said Mireille Bejjani, the state organizer for Community Action Works. "You said you were pausing the process to meet with the community."

Several of those who spoke expressed frustration that it felt like the forum was more a means of selling Project 2015A and appeasing residents rather than a genuine critical conversation about the future of the peaker plant.

But Marblehead Municipal Light Department General Manager Joe Kowalik repeatedly defended the plant as the best way to meet increasing forecast spikes in demand as the state navigates a tricky road to a carbon-neutral 2050.

"Offshore wind, solar are intermittent," Kowalik said. "They rely on the weather — the New England weather — which was all know is not reliable.

"Without adequate reliability, we could experience a New England future where we could experience brownouts, as far-fetched as they seem. I do not want to see a California experience, a Texas experience, in our future."

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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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