The plant's plan to go off line in 2016 doesn't necessarily mean it won't burn coal that year and doesn't signal closure, a spokesman said.
Holyoke's Mount Tom Power Station received 7,500 tons of this stuff -- coal -- this week. HOLYOKE -- Seventy-five rail cars of coal were delivered to the Mount Tom Power Station this week in a sign the plant isn't planning to shut down, a spokesman said Tuesday.
"I know some people have been misinterpreting that we're going to close because we're going to go off-line in 2016, and that's not entirely true," said Charles B. Burnham, manager of government and regulatory affairs with plant-owner GDF Suez Energy North America/FirstLight Power Resources, of Glastonbury, Conn.
The plant on Route 5 received 7,500 tons of coal by train and plans are for burning to be done in the winter, if not sooner, he said. The plant is beside the Connecticut River in the northernmost part of the city.
"We don't have any plan to shut down," Burnham said.
"Once you buy that much coal, it just makes sense to use it," he said.
This comes as meetings have been held here, including one May 30, in which groups such as Neighbor to Neighbor and city and state officials have discussed what to do with the site when the plan closes.
Such discussion has been prompted by months of sporadic operation of the plant and a March announcement from GDF Suez that it would "de-list" the plant for 2016. That means that ISO New England accepted a “dynamic de-list bid” from GDF Suez and the plant won't be expected to provide power or receive any payments from the Forward Capacity Market. But it could still run if operators chose to do so.
The Holyoke-based ISO New England is the region's power-grid operator.
The Forward Capacity Market is the annual process under which ISO New England projects how much electricity will be needed to power the region three years in advance and then conducts an auction to purchase resources that will meet that demand. Electrical suppliers that are selected in the auction are then required to provide power or curtail demand when called upon by ISO New England.
Neighbor to Neighbor's Lena Entin said taking the step to "de-list" a plant is hard to misinterpret.
"That's usually a red flag for retirement," Entin said.
Concerns have been raised about respiratory and other health problems from coal-burning plants, although Burnham said the plant meets all state and federal emission standards. The plant employs 25 people, including 17 members of Local 455, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
"We're eager to work with Mount Tom on the process," Entin said. "We'd like to see something cleaner there. We'd like to help the workers. We'd like to see something cleaner than coal."