Climate activists Jay O’Hara and Ken Ward, operating under the moniker of Coal Is Stupid, were yesterday aiming to draw attention to Brayton Point's status as the largest emitter of carbon dioxide in New England and the “stupidity” of its imminent sale.
“I choose to place my body between the exploding mountain tops of Appalachia and the burning fires of our consumption and greed as a witness to the new way of being in the world that we know is possible,” O’Hara wrote on the pair’s website where they provided live updates of their protest.
At 9.30am, Ward called the Somerset police and said: “We are conducting a peaceful non-violent protest against the use of coal. We have anchored near the pier at Brayton Point.”
Their protest successfully blocked the Energy Enterprise’s delivery of coal to the pier from Virginian coalfields.
The lobster boat was approached and investigated by the Coast Guard, who left the men with a warning that they were vulnerable to a federal fine of $40,000 for blocking the waterway.
The men were not arrested and left the area about 6.30pm.
Dominion Energy has made plans to sell Brayton Point to private equity firm Energy Capital Partners by July for a sale price is $650 million, after taxes.
O’Hara and Ward wrote a letter to executives at both companies, in conjunction with environmental group 350.org, and had it delivered during their protest.
“Dominion Energy has concluded that it does not make economic sense to continue operating merchant coal plants, and Energy Capital Partners sees coal fired generation as a good investment opportunity, betting on a long term rise in electricity demand and expansion of capacity market constructs,” the letter said.
“Our collective problem is that apparently intelligent, micro-level decisions to continue burning coal, such as this one, when considered in the aggregate, are shown to be stupid.
“Selling the plant ensures that it will continue to be operated and that is flatly counter to our essential need for a liveable planet. Closing the plant would be a relatively inexpensive gesture toward global common sense.”
