The best way forward on environmental justice
When New England experiences a cold snap that turns up thermostats, or a hot and humid day that sends the AC into overdrive, the sporadic surges in electricity demand are routinely met by peaker power plants. Peakers are facilities that are only utilized during times of peak energy demand and tend to operate only a few hundred hours a year. When they do, however, they often emit excessive amounts of carbon dioxide and other toxic pollutants.
These peakers are frequently sited in disadvantaged communities and communities of color, which exposes already vulnerable populations to disproportionate health hazards. Amidst unprecedented energy cost spikes in Connecticut, with electricity rates set to nearly double in 2023, it is clear the time is now for bold action to address the burdens inflicted by our current system through investment in cleaner alternatives that gets us off the fossil-fuel price roller coaster.
Connecticut has a prime opportunity to begin retiring the state’s outdated energy infrastructure and replace it with cleaner alternatives. Replacing dirty peaker plants would be an important step toward meeting the state’s ambitious renewable energy goals and these repowering opportunities should be prioritized as moments to remedy historic environmental injustices. Taking these steps is more important than ever because peaker plants in New England will be called on more frequently to balance the grid’s energy supply as weatherdependent renewable energy sources such as wind and solar grow to make up a larger share of generation. The more often inefficient, dirty peaker plants fire up, the greater the impact of their harmful pollutants.
Time to embrace clean energy storage solutions
To decarbonize the grid, renewable energy sources need to be stored for longer durations to maintain electric grid reliability and provide operational flexibility to grid operators. Replacing a system’s fossil fuel generation with renewable energy requires pairing these resources with flexible large-scale energy storage that can replicate the services and reliability of the existing system. The good news is that emission-free battery storage can serve the same role as peakers without the pollution and the challenging cost variability of fossil fuels.
In most cases, battery storage can be a viable alternative for peaker plants that only run when demand is highest. Batteries charge up during times of lower demand, and then discharge at times of high demand. As more renewable energy is added to the grid, the power charging the batteries will get cleaner, amplifying the impact and improving environmental outcomes for the state’s most vulnerable residents.
It’s for all these reasons that FirstLight Power has decided to retire our fossil fuel power generation facility in Preston and replace it with a largecapacity 17 MW battery energy storage system. Tunnel Jet — the last fossil fuel unit in the company’s fleet — has served as a peaker plant for more than 50 years, but is a product of a bygone era. The Tunnel Battery project will be located at the same site as FirstLight’s Tunnel Hydro facility and will demonstrate how pairing batteries with hydropower can supply affordable, renewable energy to Connecticut communities when it is most needed. Hydropower plants already use their water reservoirs as energy storage, but a battery system will add extra storage capacity, allowing the hydro plant to store the electricity it can produce in offpeak periods.
Seize the opportunity to build state’s green workforce
In order to keep pace with the clean energy transition, it is also critical that Connecticut begins to invest in and expand the state’s renewable energy workforce. The state must work with local leaders to establish an equity-centered workforce training program that will provide an opportunity for all Connecticut residents to tap into the green jobs market and build the workforce necessary to achieve a carbon-free future.
To jump-start this critical effort, FirstLight and its development partner, New Leaf Energy, delivered seed funding in October to support Operation Fuel, the only year-round emergency energy assistance program in Connecticut. The initial grant will go toward Operation Fuel’s efforts to provide energy efficiency training to local workers who will engage residents across Connecticut to optimize their energy use and lower costs during this challenging time. This approach delivers long-term benefits and will prove useful well beyond the current cost crisis, providing residents with demonstrated methods to enhance energy efficiency and lower energy costs.
Connecticut can showcase its leadership on clean energy issues by replacing more of its dirty peaker plants with clean alternatives. Not only will this approach advance us toward the state’s decarbonization goal, but it will also create a more resilient power system, prioritize health and equitable access for future generations, and reduce our dependence on cost variable fossil fuels. At the same time, the implementation of workforce training programs will provide an opportunity for residents of environmental justice communities to tap into the green jobs market and build the workforce necessary to achieve a carbon-free future in Connecticut.
Let Connecticut residents tap into the green jobs market and build the workforce necessary to achieve a carbon-free future.