Peabody Generator Foes Prepare Demands Ahead Of Public Hearing

PEABODY, MA — Opponents of a planned peak-energy generator at the Waters River substation in Peabody are looking to take advantage of Wednesday's public hearing on a carbon dioxide emission plan for the generator to make one more call for changes and delays to the fossil fuel-powered project.

The Mass Climate Action Network, which has argued that any new fossil fuel-powered generator is a threat to public health in an environmental justice community and is in conflict with the state's Next Generation Climate Roadmap bill to carbon neutrality by 2050, said it plans to have members and residents out at the 7 p.m. hearing at the Torigian Senior Center.

MCAN is calling for a community health impact assessment on the generator's impact on nearby residents, the closure of two other generators at the site of the proposed new generator, increased emissions monitoring and that an environmental impact review be conducted prior to the generator's construction.

The 60-megawatt peak generator, which the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company said is necessary to provide reliable energy and stable rates during limited extreme weather conditions each year, has already received state Department of Public Utilities funding approval.

Wednesday's meeting is for public comment on the state Department of Environmental Protection's proposed Carbon Dioxide Budget Emissions Control Plan approval.

The application and the Mass DEP's proposed decision are available here. Comments on the proposed decision must be submitted in writing by Dec. 14. Comments may be submitted via the Public Access Portal, via electronic mail to edward.braczyk@mass.gov, or via mail to the Northeast Regional Office at 205B Lowell Street, Wilmington, MA, 01887.

Climate advocacy groups have opposed Project2015A, which moved through the state approval process in relative obscurity for about six years, once light began being shined on the project in 2021.

The MMWEC then hit a 30-day "pause" on the project in response to the sudden public pressure.

The MMWEC and Peabody Municipal Light Plant made some plan alterations aimed at lowering the emissions impact on the surrounding communities — including agreeing to decommission one of the generators currently 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.

Those opposed to any new generator that operates on fossil fuels have kept up the fight— arguing that the generator risks becoming a "stranded asset" based on the state's climate roadmap.

The MMWEC has said the state Department of Public Utilities did dutifully consider many of these objections during the funding approval process and ultimately found them not to be grounds to prevent the project.

A remote link to the hearing can be found here.

A video recording of the hearing will also be available here after the hearing.

(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.)