Generator Foes Plan '#StopPeabodyPeaker' Documentary Screening

PEABODY, MA — A coalition of climate advocacy groups opposed to the fossil fuel-powered peak-energy generator under construction at the Waters Rivers substation on Pulaski Street in Peabody will host the screening of Steven Andrada's documentary "#StopPeabodyPeaker" and a forum on the project next week.

Representatives from Breathe Clean North Shore, Slingshot, Massachusetts Climate Action Network, 350 Mass and the Salem Alliance for the Environment plan to show the documentary and provide information on their ongoing efforts to stop the 55-megawatt generator's construction and placement online.

The Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company has said the generator is necessary to provide reliable energy at stable prices during extreme weather events and that it will eventually replace a less-efficient generator currently operating at the site.

The opponents argue that any new energy source that uses fossil fuels for power is in contrast with the state's climate roadmap, that it risks becoming a "stranded asset" as the state moves toward renewable energy sources, and that pollution from the generator will add to an already-overburdened environmental justice area.

The documentary tells the story of how the different groups learned of the generator project in 2020, organized their opposition, and the urgency they feel behind their battle against new fossil fuel infrastructure.

With most avenues to stop the generator having been rejected or exhausted, the groups are hoping for action from the incoming state leadership to halt the construction of the state-approved Project 2015A.

"With Governor (Maura) Healey now in office and Peabody facing the prospect of three polluting power plants on the same site, the community hopes the new administration will set a new standard of listening to and engaging with impacted residents to protect environmental justice neighborhoods," Slingshot Executive Director Mireille Bejjani said in a statement to Patch. "Steps the governor could take to indicate her administration's commitment to climate justice include: increasing the assessment of this project, mitigating the harm that is being caused, and shutting down the dirty peaker plants in Peabody."

The MMWEC and Peabody Municipal Light Plant made some alterations to the original plan in 2021 aimed at lowering the emissions impact on the surrounding communities, including decommissioning one of the older generators at the site, but ultimately got the go-ahead for much of the framework for the original plan the utility said will operate approximately 239 hours per year and be 94 percent more efficient than generators across the state.

The screening will be on Feb. 16 at 6 p.m. at the Torigian Senior Center in Peabody.

Panelists after the screening will be Susan Smoller of Breathe Clean North Shore, Bejjani of Slingshot, Logan Malik of the Massachusetts Climate Action Network, and Judith Black of 350 Mass, who have all repeatedly spoken out against the generator in the two years since the plans for it because publicized after it moved through the state's approval process in relative obscurity since 2015.

Filmmaker Andrada is also set to be part of the panel.

(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.)