If natural gas is a "bridge fuel," let’s treat it as such, and that’s exactly what’s happening in Massachusetts.
Recently, we reported that the 150th coal plant would close in the US, and the biggest one in New England. In its place will go a highly contested natural gas plant that, thanks to Conservation Law Foundation, is turning into a model for the rest of the US to follow.
In a first-of-its-kind agreement, Conservation Law Foundation and natural gas company, Footprint Power, agreed on binding conditions for the power plant. And regulators voted unanimously to put that "bridge fuel" theory into practice.
The site where the coal plant is closing, the region’s biggest polluter:
Under the agreement, Footprint signed onto a set of binding conditions: the plant will have a limited lifetime, closing no later than January 1, 2050; it will comply with decreasing annual emissions limits; and through the years production will trend down. As it gets closer to 2050, it will operate for fewer hours and abide by increasingly stringent carbon caps.
After coming online in 2016, the plant will operate normally until 2026. After that, it will be subject to progressively stricter limits on operation times and emissions. By its last year of service in 2049, it would be limited to about 25% of its original output.
"At a time when many across the nation and the world see unrestricted growth of natural gas as a climate solution, this is the first settlement providing a pathway for new natural gas infrastructure to help enable rather than undermine a clean energy future," says John Kassel, President of Conservation Law Foundation, which developed the proposal.
The state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs says it the agreement will be written into the
state-issued operating permit for the plant.
The Patrick Administration also committed to support to give $2 million to municipalities that have active or retired coal plants to build renewable energy capacity instead of new fossil fuel plants.
Studies show that after 2020, natural gas begins displacing more than coal – low gas prices make it hard for renewable energy to compete.
"This agreement shows how natural gas can be a tool for reducing greenhouse emissions if it is appropriately conditioned and constrained in a manner that is consistent with the need to decarbonize our energy system," says Shanna Cleveland, attorney for Conservation Law Foundation. "Natural gas is often viewed as a bridge to the clean energy future; this settlement ensures that there is an end to that bridge."
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