Public Gets Chance To Speak Out On Proposed Peabody Power Plant

PEABODY, MA — Those who have been pressing to have their voices heard on the proposed Peabody gas and oil peaker power plant will get their chance on Tuesday night.

For months, opponents of the long-planned project have urged the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company to be more transparent and responsive to public concerns. Local and state officials joined that call this spring, which led to MMWEC calling for at least a 30-day pause in May so that it could gather information on any alternatives to the fossil fuel-powered plant.

The MMWEC said it now plans to use the forum to share information its gathered and solicit feedback.

The meeting — scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the Torigian Center — will include a presentation from MMWEB, as well as municipal light plant officials and experts on peaker plants, and the results of its "investigation into alternative sources" for surge capacity power.

A question-and-answer session will follow the presentations.

Masks will be required for those attending in person and will be provided. Peabody TV will record the meeting and air it the next day. It will also be livestreamed on the Peabody Municipal Light Plant's Facebook page.

Rep. Sally Kerans (D-Danvers), who has voiced her misgivings about the plant, expressed some optimism earlier this month that the forum would be a genuine exchange of ideas about alternatives to the current plans.

"Many, many people — elected officials, non-elected officials — have questions," Kerans told Patch on June 11. "Let's have that conversation."

The plant, which would be located at the Waters Street substation near the Danvers line, would generate the energy capacity required to meet peak demand, such as extreme heat, extreme cold and other catastrophic weather events. The plant would serve 13 municipal utilities across the state — including Peabody Municipal Light Plant and the Marblehead Municipal Electic Light Department.

MMWEC officials previously said alternative forms of renewable energy — such as solar, wind and hydro — are not reliable enough to meet energy needs in case of an emergency. They said the peaker plant is expected to run 239 hours per year, producing fewer emissions than 94 percent of similar resources in the region, and will help "maintain stable rates" for municipal utility customers.

But those opposed to the plant say using fossil fuels at all makes it a "plant of the past, not the future," and could result in ratepayers being responsible for a distressed asset as the state moves toward becoming carbon-neutral by 2050.

"Natural gas is not a bridge," Massachusetts Climate Action Network Executive Director Sarah Dooling said on June 11 after delivering a petition to MMWEC's Ludlow offices that demanded the utility either alter or abandon its current proposal. "It's not a bridge. It's still emissions. MMWEC's continued emphasis that this proposed 'dirty' peaker is more efficient than existing dirty peakers — OK — but is that where we want to go?

"Is that the threshold for MLPs that is acceptable?"

The MMWEC's 30-day pause is now in its sixth week. An MMWEC spokesperson previously told Patch there had been no definitive timetable set on when the utility had to make a decision on whether to change the proposal or proceed with the current plans.

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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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