Activists want to convert Mount Tom coal plant Mt.Tom coal
plant. Purchase photo reprints » Mt. Tom coal plant. Purchase
photo reprints » at sunrise...the Mt. Tom Station Coal Plant on
Route 5, Holyoke as seen from the railroad bridge next to the
Conn. River. This is a 0 degree morning which shows water vapor
( not pollution) coming form the stack Purchase photo reprints »
HOLYOKE — Activists are powering up their campaign to close the
Mt. Tom plant, which converts coal into electricity, and to
replace it with one that uses renewable sources. Their quest
comes as the state itself undertakes a review of coal-fueled
plants in Massachusetts. The emissions at the Holyoke plant
contribute to climate change and increase the rate of asthma in
the vicinity, they say. The plant, which opened in 1960, is in
operation only at times of peak demand, because electricity
produced from natural gas is much less expensive. “Coal is the
dirtiest fossil fuel there is, and it’s ridiculous that we’re
still using a 17th-century fue