The former Mount Tom coal-fired power station, once among the most polluting plants in New England, is set to become a solar photovoltaic park.
The Mount Tom power station in Holyoke, Massachusetts (United States), is making the transition from coal to solar. The plant's owner, French company Engie, closed the coal-fired power station in 2014 because it was no longer profitable, and in its place is building a 5.76-megawatt photovoltaic plant, sufficient to supply renewable electricity to one thousand homes.
The Mount Tom coal-fired power station began operating in 1960 and, over the years, was consistently associated with poor air quality in the Holyoke area, earning itself a place on the unenviable "dirty dozen" — the list of New England's worst polluters compiled by Toxics Action Center, a local organisation that fights for the right of local communities to live sustainably.
"A victory that came after more than fifty years spent inhaling soot and struggling to breathe. We spent more than five years organising the closure and rebirth of the Mount Tom coal plant," said Claire BW Miller of the Toxics Action Center.
The Mount Tom solar plant, which cost approximately 10 million dollars, will come into operation in January 2017 and, with its 17,000 photovoltaic panels spread across 9 hectares, will be one of the largest plants in the state of Massachusetts.
With the new year, LLC — a subsidiary of Engie North America — will begin selling renewable energy to the local municipally owned utility, Holyoke Gas & Electric, under a twenty-year agreement. Once the plant is operational, the distribution company, which supplies energy to 18,000 households, will be able to count on an energy mix made up of 75 per cent renewable energy.
"My administration appreciates the efforts that all the parties involved have made in bringing to life what will, by the end of this year, be the largest Community Solar Project in Massachusetts," said the town's mayor, Alex Morse. "It is a magnificent step forward in the redevelopment of the former Mount Tom plant, in line with the recommendations of a study on the possibilities for converting the site to which the Holyoke community made a significant contribution."
Renewables are no longer a cause championed solely by environmental organisations or citizens who are particularly attuned to green issues. The energy world is undergoing a structural change: electricity generation from large fossil-fuel-fired power stations is in sharp decline, while that from renewables is growing.
Engie itself, despite the fact that most of its capacity is still based on natural gas and, to a lesser extent, coal, has seen its renewable energy output rise, reaching 17 per cent in 2014. "Renewable sources are revolutionising the energy industry and above all solar energy will transform our world. Not only is it available in unlimited quantities, but it is becoming increasingly profitable," stressed Isabelle Kocher, chief executive of the French company.
A revolution also driven by growing awareness of climate change. "People have realised that we need to completely rethink our economy to avoid climate disaster," added Kocher, who considers the turning point to have been the Paris Agreement, which entered into force this very month.
