Berliner on Coal Plant Closure in Dickerson

Montgomery County Councilmember Roger Berliner, who chairs the Council’s Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee, made the following statement after learning that NRG Energy in 2017 will close its coal-fired generating plant in Dickerson in northern Montgomery County:

“I have been advised by NRG officials, owners of the Dickerson coal plant in Montgomery County, that on Dec. 1 they gave official notification of their intent to close the plant in 2017. According to these officials, NRG’s decision was based on the increased costs associated with meeting greenhouse gas related regulations.

“I regret the loss of jobs associated with this decision, and I would hope that NRG and our state would provide job training and other assistance to these employees. We need to be creating jobs for a clean, green power sector and begin moving away from dependence on dirty, greenhouse gas emitting coal plants. NRG, which has also established itself as a leader in the clean energy sphere, and our state should partner in using this decision as a pilot for transitioning workers into clean, green energy jobs.

“The Dickerson plant is by far the single largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions in the county. The closure of the plant in 2017 will help the county meet its ambitious goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by the year 2050. However, even with the closure, much more work must be done—hard work—and I will be introducing a package of renewable, energy efficiency and electric vehicle measures next month that should help our County achieve this important goal.”

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