The Mount Tom Station was a coal-fired power plant located in Holyoke, Massachusetts. It was the last coal-fired plant in Western Massachusetts before its closure in December 2014.[1]
History
The plant was opened in 1960, and was briefly converted to run on oil for ten years after 1970, before returning to burning coal.[2] Starting in 2009, it no longer became profitable to run the station except in times of high demand due to the natural gas boom in the United States. The boom has resulted in the price of coal growing relative to the price of natural gas which makes coal generation less competitive.[3][4]
In 2014, GDF SUEZ Energy North America, the owner of the plant (via FirstLight Power Resources), announced that they would be closing the plant later that year citing economic concerns.[5] The boiler structure was imploded by Controlled Demolition, Inc. on November 11, 2018[6] and the final structure, the smokestack, was imploded August 6, 2019.[7] The switching station, owned by Eversource Energy, remained in place.
In October 2016, a 5.76 megawatt solar array was erected on the property. It produces enough power for 1,000 homes and is coupled with a battery storage facility that has 3 to 5 megawatts of capacity.[8]
See also
References
- ^ Tuthill, Paul. "Study Shows Health Benefits Of Power Plant Standards". WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
- ^ LaBorde, Tom (30 September 2012). "Mount Tom power station in Holyoke to undergo review". Springfield Republican. Holyoke, Massachusetts. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
- ^ "ELECTRICITY DATA BROWSER". eia.gov. United States Electricity Information Administration. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
- ^ Koch, Wendy (December 16, 2013). "U.S. forecasts natural gas boom through 2040". USA Today. USA Today. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
- ^ Plaisance, Mike (December 2, 2014). "Holyoke meeting set on reuse of closed Mount Tom Power Station site and cleaning soil of contaminants". Mass Live. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
- ^ Johnson, Patrick (2018-11-12). "Controlled demolition of Mount Tom Power Plant (video)". The Republican (Springfield, Massachusetts). Advance Publications. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
- ^ Johnson, Patrick. "Mount Tom smokestack, a Holyoke landmark for 60 years, comes crashing down in controlled demolition". The Republican (Springfield, Massachusetts). Advance Publications. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
- ^ Kinney, Jim (2021-04-08). "Sen. Ed Markey tours Holyoke's Mount Tom solar farm, battery facility; city preps new battery storage downtown". The Republican (Springfield, Massachusetts). Advance Publications. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
External
Media related to Mount Tom Station at Wikimedia Commons