End of coal in NH: Schiller Station in Portsmouth to become 'renewable energy park'

PORTSMOUTH — Granite Shore Power will permanently end coal-fired operations at Schiller Station and plans to convert the defunct facility into a battery energy storage system.

Granite Shore Power is additionally ending coal-fired operations at Merrimack Station in Bow, as part of a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — following lawsuits by the Conservation Law Foundation and the Sierra Club.

Jim Andrews, chief executive officer of Granite Shore Power, announced the transition on behalf of the Bow-based company on Wednesday, a decision made after years of opposition against the plants by clean energy advocates.

The facilities in Portsmouth and Bow were the last two coal plants in New England, marking the start of a new era in clean energy sources in New Hampshire as Granite Shore Power intends to turn both into "renewable energy parks," the company revealed Wednesday.

Schiller Station has operated since 1949. Adversaries have long called for the reduction of emissions and closure of the 155 megawatt facility, which has two, dual fuel units capable of firing coal or fuel oil, in addition to a fuel oil-fired combustion turbine and a biomass boiler.

What is a battery energy storage system?

Granite Shore Power touted the plant's replacement, the soon-to-be battery energy storage system, as a means of support for future offshore wind developments in Martha’s Vineyard and the Gulf of Maine.

“There’s a significant amount of load within Portsmouth,” Andrews said in an interview Wednesday afternoon. “The Seacoast is probably one of the state’s largest load areas. Having on-demand clean power to shave the peak is going to be critical and that’s exactly what this battery storage system does. It’ll be where the old coal pile was for Schiller Station. No one will even notice it in the neighborhood because it’ll be low and obscure, but it’ll be a critical resource to advance other renewable energy resources, as well.”

The battery energy storage system will be named the Jacona II in honor of a vessel that brought power to Portsmouth and Bucksport, Maine for a time during the early 20th century.

The 396-foot-long Jacona ship, completed in April 1919 for the United States Shipping Board, was used as a freighter until 1930, when the vessel was converted into a non-self-propelled floating power barge, according to Naval History and Heritage Command. Purchased by the New England Public Service Company, the ship was anchored at the Schiller Station site in Portsmouth to provide power on land.

“The significance behind that is the original power generation at the Schiller Station property was provided by a floating generation plant that was known as the Jacona, and it was tied off of our port there at the Piscataqua River,” Andrews explained.

“I wanted to honor the memory of the original power generation at Schiller Station from the Jacona, and we’re bringing it full circle to the Jacona II,” he told Seacoastonline.

The Jacona ship was later used by the U.S. military in the Pacific and at Korean ports, then was taken off the Navy’s vessel register in May 1971.

Granite Shore Power is working in tandem with ISO New England to develop Jacona II at the Schiller Station site. Andrews expects Jacona II to be fully operational in two to three years’ time.

“This is frankly a sizable capital project, so the construction of it would be in a short period of time,” Andrews said Wednesday. “I don’t want to speculate on the numbers but there will be sizable economic and job activity for the Seacoast and the region in terms of construction.”

Schiller Station has not operated since 2020, according to Andrews.

Workers at the nearby Granite Shore Power-owned Newington Station have maintained Schiller Station and conducted rounds of the facility since workers at the Portsmouth plant were laid off.

“It’s remained available in the system and stack, but it has not operated,” Andrews said of Schiller Station. “We made a decision back then to lay the unit up. We had COVID at the time and it was sort of where things were at. We made the decision to just pull back and reserve. We sort of looked at it a few winters ago when things looked like they may be crazy in the wintertime, but we never got the unit back on.”

Praising the end of coal power in NH

The Conservation Law Foundation lauded the end of coal-fired operations in Portsmouth and Bow on Wednesday.

The Conservation Law Foundation noted Schiller Station will not operate its coal-fired boilers past Dec. 31, 2025, while the Bow plant will stop operating its coal-fired burners by June 1, 2028.

“The end of coal in New Hampshire, and for the New England region as a whole, is now certain and in sight,” shared Tom Irwin, vice president of the Conservation Law Foundation in New Hampshire. “Now we must vigorously push for the phaseout of other polluting fuels like oil and gas. New England is positioned to be a leader in building a future where our energy comes from 100% clean sources, and fossil fuels no longer pollute the climate and threaten the health of our communities.”

The Sierra Club additionally hailed the agreement, reporting that New Hampshire is the 16th state in the country to go coal-free.

“Today, we celebrate as, at long last, New Hampshire joins our coal-free neighbors across New England,” said Cathy Corkery, senior organizer of the New Hampshire Sierra Club, in a prepared statement Wednesday. “Local communities have long unjustly shouldered the burden of health and safety concerns caused by Merrimack Station and Schiller Stations’ pollution. Now, after years of advocacy by the local Sierra Club community, volunteers, advocates, and allies, an end is in sight. With coal soon gone, New Hampshire can lead the region in clean energy development and reap the economic and health benefits for generations of Granite State families.”

“This historic victory is a testament to the strength and resolve of those who never wavered in the fight for their communities and future,” added Ben Jealous, the Sierra Club’s executive director. “The people of New Hampshire and all of New England will soon breathe cleaner air and drink safer water, and I’m incredibly proud to see the region continue to grow as a leader in the clean energy transition.”

The nationwide environmental organization shared in a news release that the two stations are the 380th and 381st coal plant retirements that the Sierra Club has backed.

The Portsmouth generation station is located at 400 Gosling Road on 81 acres along the western end of the Piscataqua River.

The controversial Bow facility has a 482 megawatt capability across two coal-fired steam units and two kerosene fueled combustion turbine units.

"Merrimack Station has been an important, yet limited, part of New Hampshire’s energy infrastructure for many years," Granite Shore Power said Wednesday. "It will continue to be a vital resource when energy demands are at their highest while GSP redevelops nearly 400 acres of land into a clean energy center for generations to come."

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Schiller Station to stop burning coal, owners to harness renewables