Residents tell last sooty power plant ‘This air was made for you and me’ (update)

[Christopher Zurcher]

More than 150 people crowded into a room in the City Hall Annex recently to weigh in on Bridgeport Harbor Station’s request to renew its five-year operating permit, which expired earlier this year.

Environmentalists have been trying for years to shut down the coal operations at the station, which is owned by the Newark-based Public Service Electric & Gas. This may be their best chance, said John Calandrelli, program director for the Sierra Club’s local chapter.

Environmentalists have been trying for years to shut down Connecticut’s last remaining coal-burning power plant. They could make more headway on that goal this year, since the power plant’s operating permit is up for renewal.

One unit of the PSEG Bridgeport Harbor Station has been shut down. It is the last coal burning power plant in Connecticut. Without it, Connecticut would be the first state to completely wean itself off coal.

But even though less than 2 percent of Connecticut’s power came from coal burning sources last year, the owners of the PSEG Bridgeport Harbor Station seem determined to get their operating permit renewed.

See more of this story, along with photos and videos on CT Environmental Headlines.

PSEG Bridgeport Harbor Station (courtesy PSEG)