Canal Electric Station

Photo Source: Richard Judge The Canal Electric Station in Sandwich generates almost all of the electricity consumed on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket. On cold days, the plant generates a prominent plume —but it is the emissions you can’t see that degrade local air and water quality and contribute to public health and climate change risks.

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Facts on Dirty Energy & Pollution
See Contributor’s Guide below.

• The Canal plant generates electricity mostly by burning No. 6 fuel oil, which is supplied by barges traveling through the region and into Buzzards Bay.
• The plant can generate up to 1120 megawatts (MW) of electricity, while average electricity demand by consumers in the Cape & Islands region is about 230 MW. Because there are no other large power plants within the region and a limited number of smaller, distributed generation systems, nearly all of the electricity consumed on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket is supplied by the Canal plant.
• For each hour of every day, average demand by Cape & Islands electricity consumers accounts for the release of more than 3000 lbs of pollutants by the Canal plant. These emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (S02), and other chemicals degrade local air and water quality, and they contribute to public health risks.
• Harmful emissions from power plants in Massachusetts have been linked statistically to increases in respiratory illnesses, asthma attacks, emergency room visits, and premature deaths.
• For each hour of every day, average demand by Cape & Islands electricity consumers accounts for more than 200 tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by the Canal plant. Local communities are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change caused by rising atmospheric concentrations of GHGs.
• The Canal plant could significantly reduce its emissions of harmful pollutants or GHGs by switching to lower-sulfur fuel oil or increasing its use of natural gas. Mirant LLC, the plant’s owner, is resisting calls to switch to cleaner but more expensive fuels. It is also challenging state mandates to reduce its emissions.
• Mirant LLC is the largest taxpayer in the town of Sandwich.

Visions of Dirty Energy & Pollution
See Contributor’s Guide below.

Contributor’s Guide
The Canal Plant is not the only indicator of the air pollution problems faced by local communities. Data, information, art, and photos are sought that address topics such as the ones listed below:

Facts on Dirty Energy & Pollution

• Emissions from upwind power plants, vehicles, boats, planes, homes, other buildings, etc.
• Smog, haze, fish contamination, and eutrophication problems
• Health impacts
• Your ideas?

Visions of Dirty Energy & Pollution

• Smokestacks, chimneys, and tailpipes
• Hazy days
• Acid rain
• Hazardous fish
• Respiratory ailments and other diseases
• True costs
• Your ideas?

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Dirty Roof

Conventional asphalt shingles are
the cheapest roofing material around but, as is usually the case, there is a cost: They are manufactured using petroleum by-products and, once they reach the end of their useful life, they must be landfilled as construction debris or “downcycled” as road materials or in other low-value uses. Credit: Houston Advanced Research Center

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Green Roof

Thatching represents an attractive and sustainable roofing solution. This thatched roof, gracing a barn in Yarmouthport, transforms an invasive wetland plant (Phragmites sp.) into a useful, biodegradable shelter.

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