Mount Tom Station

Mount Tom Station
Location of Mount Tom Station in Massachusetts
Location Holyoke, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°16′52″N 72°36′18″W / 42.28111°N 72.60500°W / 42.28111; -72.60500Coordinates: 42°16′52″N 72°36′18″W / 42.28111°N 72.60500°W / 42.28111; -72.60500
Status Decommissioned
Commission date 1960
Decommission date 2014

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 town of Holyoke plans to clean up and re-purpose the site in the future.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ TUTHILL, PAUL. "Study Shows Health Benefits Of Power Plant Standards". WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  2. ↑ LaBorde, Tom (30 September 2012). "Mount Tom power station in Holyoke to undergo review". Springfield Republican. Holyoke, Massachusetts. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  3. ↑ "ELECTRICITY DATA BROWSER". eia.gov. United States Electricity Information Administration. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  4. ↑ Koch, Wendy (December 16, 2013). "U.S. forecasts natural gas boom through 2040". USA Today. USA Today. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  5. 1 2 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.
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