A couple of years ago, we challenged the owners of three peaker power plants in Berkshire County to move away from fossil fuels. Stand-out protests, signatures on the petition, the support of organizations and businesses joining our coalition, and support from Boards of Health and health professionals brought the two companies that own these three Berkshire County plants to the table.
Cogentrix, the owner of the Doreen plant in Pittsfield, Woodland Rd. plant in Lee and another larger peaker in West Springfield took our challenge to heart. They met with us many times, and we connected them with energy analysts and other experts, and they drafted up a plan. They’ve shut down all three plants and are converting the West Springfield plant to solar & storage, as covered on the Sept. 11, 2023 Energy News Network article.
It looks like a long wait during the grid operator interconnection study phase is coming to an end by the end of 2023, and the storage + solar plant is likely to come online by early 2025. Look for news of a formal announcement event in the spring of 2024.