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Proposed 580-Megawatt Power Plant to be Sited in Walpole Massachusetts?
These images show the location of a proposed gas fired power plant on Industrial Road in Walpole.
The site is located on top of an aquifer with
sole source designation,
in the middle of White Cedar Swamp conservation land,
not far from the Town Forest
and a number of the region's most precious environmental assets.
The plant will adversely affect our air quality
and threaten our supply of drinking water.
The footprint of the facility will cover a full 14 acres of the 20 acre parcel.
Some may think that this plant is only an issue for people who live very close to the site.
It is true that the
constant whine of turbines
and the precipitation of heavy particulates will be a greater burden to the plant's closest neighbors.
But the pollutant smokestack emissions will, by design,
be spread over a large area, affecting people several miles away from the plant.
And by their own admission, increased use of fossil fuels for power generation will harm the environment, cause natural gas prices to increase for residential customers, and decrease national energy security.
Within just two miles of the site are:
The Neponset River (0.25 miles)
Nearest Residences (0.50 miles)
Boyden Elementary School (0.75 miles)
Cedar Junction State Prison (1.25 miles)
Walpole High School and Athletic Complex (1.4 miles)
Gillette Stadium (1.70 miles)
Walpole Center (2.0 miles)
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The operators of this facility plan to:
Draw up to 200,000 gallons of water per day from the town water supply.
Store 16,000 gallons of aqueous ammonia
on the site, a one week supply.
Store hazardous chemicals for de-ionization of water.
Build a 70-foot tall, 2,000,000 gallon water tank
to guarantee a continuous supply for the plant.
Store an additional 500,000 gallons of water for fire suppression.
Emit tons of
sulfur dioxide (SO2),
particulate matter (soot),
Carbon Monoxide (CO),
Carbon Dioxide (CO2),
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs),
Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs),
and Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx)
from a pair of 250 foot smokestacks, the bulk of which will come back to earth within a ten-mile radius of the plant.
Dump treated waste water down the public sewer.
Run an underground gas pipeline extension alongside an
active rail line, through the town water supply.
Form a shell corporation, CPV Walpole LLC, to own this
project, shielding their investors from liability for any
accidents or environmental damage they may cause.
Negotiate a special PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes)
agreement to limit their tax payments to the town.
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Food for Thought:
The emissions from this plant would add a whopping $250,000,000 dollars per year
in medical costs to the people in this region, and cause more than 30 premature deaths annually.
A 580 Megawatt plant of this type will release nearly 400 Megawatts of
waste energy into its
surroundings, mostly in the form of heat and noise.
CPV Walpole LLC was legally formed on May 15 2007,
and they filed an ISO request to interconnect
to the power grid on May 30, 2007,
but did not register to do business in the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts until August 24, 2007.
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What you can do about it:
Look at these pictures and think about how this project will
impact our community and the surrounding towns.
Contact your state and local elected officials to voice your concerns.
Join us at meetings to put a face on the community.
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(Click any image to see more detail.)
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Data provided courtesy MassGIS MassGIS
Images generated using Google Earth
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