New England’s final coal plant shuts down years ahead of schedule

Even as the federal government tries to prop up the declining coal industry, New England's last coal-fired power plant has ceased operation three years before its scheduled retirement date. The closure of the New Hampshire facility provides an opportunity for its owner to pursue an initiative to transform the facility into a clean energy facility that includes solar panels and battery storage systems.

“The end of coal is real, and it is here,” said Katherine Corkery, director of the Sierra Club's New Hampshire chapter. “We are very excited about the next chapter.”

News of the closure came the same day the Trump administration announced plans to revive the coal sector by discovery of millions of acres federal state for mining operations and investing $625 million. in modernization that extends the life of coal-fired power plants. The administration has already released a plan to roll back environmental regulations related to coal.

The announcement was the latest offensive in the administration's pro-coal agenda. Federal government twice extended the planned closing date JH Campbell coal plant in Michigan, and U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the administration's goal is to keep coal plants running, saying the capacity is needed to ensure grid reliability and keep prices down.

But New Hampshire's closure, which has not yet been challenged by the federal government, demonstrates that keeping some facilities open simply doesn't make economic sense for their owners.

“Coal has faced enormous challenges in the New England market for more than a decade,” said Dan Dolan, president of the New England Electric Producers Association.

Merrimack Station, a 438-megawatt power plant, came online in the 1960s and provided baseload power to the New England region for decades. However, gradually natural gas, which is cheaper and more efficient, captured the regional market. In 2000, gas-fired power plants produced less than 15 percent of the region's electricity; last year they produced more than half.

Additionally, solar power production has accelerated since 2010, reducing demand on the grid during the day and causing evening peaks to increase. Coal-fired power plants take longer to ramp up production than other sources and are therefore less economical for such short bursts of demand, Dolan said.

In recent years, Merrimack has only been open a few weeks a year. In 2024, the plant generated just 0.22 percent of the region's electricity. The company was not making enough money to justify continuing operations, observers said.

The closure “is symbolic of the transition that has been going on at the New England Generating Park for many years,” Dolan said. “The combination of all these factors has meant that coal operations are no longer economically viable in this market.”

Granite Shore Power, the plant's owner, first announced its intention to close Merrimack in March 2024, after years of protests and litigation from environmentalists. The company has committed to ending coal-fired operations by 2028 to settle a lawsuit alleging the facility violates the federal Clean Water Act. The agreement included another commitment to close the Schiller plant in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, by the end of 2025; this smaller plant can burn coal, but has not done so since 2020.

At the time, the company outlined a proposal to repurpose a 400-acre Merrimack site near Concord for clean energy projects, using existing electrical infrastructure to connect a 120-megawatt combined solar and battery system to the grid.

It's unclear whether changes in federal renewable energy policy will impact that vision. In a statement announcing Merrimack's closure, Granite Shore Power was less specific about its plans than before, saying, “We continue to evaluate all options for redevelopment” of the site, but declined to provide more details.

However, advocates are optimistic about the future.

“It’s progress—there’s no question that the math is there,” Corkery said. “It’s never over until it’s over, but I really hope.”