The last coal-fired power plant in Connecticut will soon close. The announcement is being hailed as a "win" in the environmental justice community.
The coal-fueled energy plant at Bridgeport's Harbor Station has been running since the 1960s. Today, it's a peaking power plant -- which means it runs only when energy demand is high.
Operator PSEG Power said it will now take that plant entirely offline, replacing it with a facility running on another type of fuel: natural gas.
"People in urban areas have had to make tough decisions every day of their lives. And this is a matter of choosing between the lesser of two evils," said Sharon E. Lewis of the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental and Economic Justice.
Lewis said the coal plant was dirty -- and natural gas, while still a fossil fuel, will at least be cleaner for the often low-income residents living near the plant.
A 2012 report from the NAACP highlighted Bridgeport -- saying coal plants present a series of dramatic health challenges to nearby neighbors.
Lewis said the plant was initially slated for closure in 2025 -- but that date got moved up to 2021, which she thinks is good news for nearby residents suffering from things like asthma.
"And we're super-excited because that's four less years of being exposed to this devastating and dangerous particulate matter," Lewis said.
PSEG power said it plans to have its natural gas plant online in 2019.
