On December 22, Dr. Nathan Phillips, a Newton resident and climate activist, confronted the damage being done by the Merrimack Station coal-fired energy plant in Bow, New Hampshire, by chaining himself, along with another activist, to a train track, delaying the arrival of about 100 cars filled with coal to the plant. The plant in New Hampshire is the last coal-fired energy plant in New England that does not have a shutdown date. “A hundred cars of coal, when burned, equals the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of 6300 motor vehicles driven for an entire year,” explained Phillips. “And that is just one shipment of coal.”
This action was part of a coordinated campaign designed to close the Merrimack Station.
The activists from “No Coal No Gas” had planned this action with safety in mind. They safely stopped the train, and then, about 100 yards ahead of the engine, Phillips and another activist pulled out chains and a locking device, and quickly chained themselves to each other and to the track.
Phillips said that this peaceful, non-violent action was focused on not only stopping this shipment of coal, but also highlighting the dangers to all plant and animal life by continuing to burn coal; the need for protections for railway workers, whose contract was forced by the government without appropriate sick time; and the health of people in Bow and all the way down the track to those mining coal. Phillips elaborated: “Profiteering off the health of Bow residents was a big reason why we did the action. Often, injustices connect very seemingly disparate communities, from front line residents in places like Bow to the rail workers being treated unfairly by CSX, to the health of the coal miners afflicted with black lung and other respiratory diseases, to the ratepayers across New England subsidizing dirty energy for the profits of the few.”
The railroad police and local police were called. The activists had two demands: to meet with the CEO of ISO (Independent Systems Operators) New England to demand a stop to the massive rate payer subsidy to Granite Shore Power, which owns the Merrimack station, for burning coal; and to meet with the CEO of CSX (the transportation supplier) to discuss improvements for the treatment of railroad workers. The activists are following up on a response to those demands.
But on that cold December morning, the fire department was called to remove the locking device, the activists were released, and Phillips and his associate were promptly arrested. They were eventually taken to the Ayer District Court, where the charges for both were dismissed prior to arraignment. Supporters were present to watch the legal process unfold.
Granite Shore Power LLC has five power-generating stations in New Hampshire. The Merrimack Station in Bow, NH, alongside the Merrimack River, was a plant that generated electricity on a regular basis, but now it is considered a “peaker” plant — i.e., one that generates power on demand when the temperatures are extremely cold or hot, and to guard against outages when other power sources may fall short. In reality, this peaker plant is not needed, says Phillips. “Two better ways to deal with peak needs would be to build batteries to store electricity, and to involve ratepayers, who reduce demand when asked to do so (‘Shave the Peak’ actions).” He noted that other better uses of the subsidy that Granite Power receives would be the use of renewables, and relief to ratepayers facing high heating bills.
The Merrimack Station affects the rate we pay in Newton for electricity in that all energy is fungible, and our payments for electricity are part of what is paid to Granite Power by ISO New England in forward capacity payments, i.e, payments made to the power plant to maintain its capacity so it will be available in the future. Philips noted that because the Merrimack Station is not needed as a peaker plant, the money spent on forward capacity payments are unnecessary costs that New England customers should not have to pay.
The Merrimack Station was sued in federal court in 2019 by the Sierra Club and the Conservation Law Foundation. A trial was set to start in October 2022. The lawyers litigating this case could not be reached for this article.
Phillips, who holds a Ph.D. from Duke University School of Environment and a B.S. in physics from the California State University, teaches graduate and undergraduate classes at Boston University in five areas, including plant physiology ecology, sustainable energy, and biogeography. He has been arrested eight times in non-violent direct action protests, and he has participated in two hunger strikes — all to call attention to our need to end the use of fossil fuels.
— Margaret Zaleski and Nathan Phillips are members of the Newton Node of 350Mass.org.
