Clean energy and climate change: cleaner power and cleaner cars on tap for New England.

Support at the federal level for a clean energy agenda that will effectively combat the threat of climate change and kick-start our lagging economy has been tepid, at best, in recent months. The effort to pass strong climate change legislation has languished while the Administration continues to press forward with an energy plan that largely travels the same well-worn path of fossil-fuel dependence. In this time of political stagnation, real progress on clean energy and climate change will come from the states, and CLF is leading the charge in New England.

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A Tipping Point for Coal?

As coal-fired power plant operators across the region pressed to prolong the lives of their deteriorating facilities, CLF fought relentlessly to break the region's dependence on dirty coal power. By demanding that the plants operate within the boundaries of federal and state laws, forcing substantial upgrades and maintenance, CLF effectively called into question their ability to continue to provide cheap power and remain financially viable.

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In Somerset, MA, CLF's longstanding crusade against the Somerset Station power plant finally paid off when owner NRG shut down the plant indefinitely on January 2, 2010. Meanwhile, CLF appealed a decision by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to allow NRG to convert the Somerset plant using a new technology called plasma gasification--a high-heat chemical process that NRG's own estimates show would emit as much or more greenhouse gases than burning coal, in addition to other pollutants. CLF argued that, under the Clean Air Act and state law, the proposed conversion of the plant should not be allowed without a full environmental review and the adoption of measures to maximize pollution control. Somerset's shutdown amidst continued uncertainty about its future plans was a win for the community, and a win for CLF on its way to phasing out coal power in the state.

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In Salem, MA, home to Salem Harbor Station, the second largest coal-fired plant in Massachusetts, CLF mobilized support for a cleaner energy future for the city by educating residents about Massachusetts' air quality laws, the plant's obligations under the law and the threats to public health and the environment in the face of continuing violations. This led to CLF's January 2010 filing of a 60-day notice to sue owner Dominion Energy in federal court for ongoing violations of...