hudson sun

State OKs new power plant for utility consortium
Thu Dec 18, 2008

HUDSON - The Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board has approved construction and operation of a new 280-megawatt power plant by the consortium of local electric companies that includes Hudson and Shrewsbury.

The plant, which is scheduled for operation in 2013 and will be fueled by natural gas, will be the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company's Stony Brook 3 power plant, located in Ludlow.

According to a press release from MMWEC, in its Dec. 12 order, the Energy Facilities Siting Board found that, subject to certain conditions, "the construction and operation of the proposed facility will provide a reliable energy supply for the commonwealth with a minimum impact on the environment at the lowest possible cost."

MMWEC chief executive officer Ronald C. DeCurzio said, "This decision is an important step forward for the project, which is needed to help meet the future power requirements of Massachusetts municipal utilities and other project participants. We greatly appreciate the siting board's thorough review and approval of the project, which is designed to be one of the most efficient and environmentally sound power plants in the country."

Stony Brook 3 is an expansion of the existing facilities at the Stony Brook site, where the non-profit public corporation now has two units with a generating capacity of 522 megawatts. The site already has natural gas, oil and water pipelines as well as the transmission facilities and other infrastructure needed to support the new unit.

Utilities participating in the current development phase of the new unit include 24 Massachusetts municipal utilities, the Pascoag, R.I., Utility District and the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative, the joint action agency for Connecticut municipal utilities.

Besides Hudson and Shrewsbury, Bay State municipal utilities are based in Ashburnham, Boylston, Chicopee, Georgetown, Groton, Holden, Holyoke, Hull, Ipswich, Littleton, Marblehead, Middleton, North Attleborough, Paxton, Peabody, Princeton, South Hadley, Sterling, Templeton, Wakefield, West Boylston and Westfield.