The Energy Team works to reduce energy-related pollution and increase renewable energy and efficiency programs in New Hampshire.

Rows of two-sided Solar panels in a field

Solar Array Tour in Kingston

Ken Soleyn, Change Maker Volunteer
Photo Credit: Ken Soleyn

October 29, 2025. I was invited to a public tour of a 4.9-megawatt, ground-mounted solar array in Kingston, NH, commissioned by Unitil Corp and installed by ReVision Energy. Active since June of this year, the array is the largest in New Hampshire. It produces enough electricity to meet the power needs of 1,200 average NH homes. I learned that this system is an ideal “peak buster”. Electrical rates are determined by the power needed during “peak demand”. Peak demand is basically the time span when the most power is being consumed from the electric grid, usually during hot summer days when everyone is running their air conditioning. These days are also some of the sunniest, allowing local solar energy systems to give back to the grid when support is most needed. Large-scale systems like Unitil’s are especially critical to offsetting demand.

The Kingston site encompasses 11,232 bifacial (double-sided) solar panels as well as inverters, transformers, and other electrical equipment that cover approximately 27 acres. The electricity it produces is delivered directly to Unitil’s electric distribution system. The array is expected to generate approximately 9.7 million kilowatt hours of energy in its first year of service and to average 8.6 million kilowatt hours annually over its projected 40-year lifespan. Energy production is optimized by the panels’ ability to reflect extra light and by a single-axis tracking system that rotates throughout the course of a day, where panels adjust position to track the sun from east to west. One of Revision Energy’s master electricians explained how the solar panels accomplish tracking by utilizing modeled weather data specific to the region as well as the input from various weather telemetry sensors.

The array is designed to withstand New Hampshire four season weather. For instance, when the ground is covered in snow, the solar panels take advantage of the albedo effect. If you’ve ever gone skiing, you’ve surely seen this effect in action; it’s the sunlight reflecting off the snow crystals that act like tiny mirrors. The solar panels will never go snow blind, because the solar panels are double-sided, so the more winter sun, the more power. Also during storms, the panels will automatically position themselves to the best aerodynamic position in high winds.

In my professional career, I visited several power plants including the Seabrook Nuclear power plant as well as gas turbine and hydro plants. I also worked on certification and commissioning by providing sensors and instruments to the power industry. The first thing I noticed at this facility is how quiet it is—no need for hearing protection gear here. All you basically hear is a low hum at inverter panels, which are the cooling fans, and they are not audible unless you are within a few feet. You can also hear when the electrically actuated panels are rotating to track the sun. Another observation I made was there are no smokestacks; the facility smelled like a typical New Hampshire fall morning.

New Hampshire needs more deployment of clean solar power like this to meet our energy needs cleaner, cheaper, and faster for the future.

“One day you'll look to see I've gone
But tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun
Someday you'll know I was the one
But tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun”….Paul McCartney/John Lennon.

NH Sierra Club Energy Committee Continues to Support Just and Reasonable Rates

Demanding More Access to Solar and Transparency for Utility-Own Transmission Line Upgrades

Demand More Solar Access

Poster of Various time-limited taz credits 8/2025

Demand Transparency for Utility-Owned Transmission Line Upgrades

TBA

NH Sierra Club Submits Comments and Hosts Mock Hearing for the NH 10 Year Energy Strategy

NH Dept of Energy Comment Period Ends on March 31, 2025

Concord, NH -- The NH Dept of Energy has failed retail ratepayers and allowed transmission costs, distribution costs and energy purchases from generation facilities to spiral. As a result, the rates are high, the access to clean energy options are less than mediocre and state energy-saving programs are under-performing in NH compared to similar programs in the other New England states. It is the duty of the NH dept to ensure 'just and reasonable rates', provide cost saving programs and oversee the utilities.

The Sierra Club New Hampshire respectfully submitted comments to the New Hampshire Department of Energy for the next 10 Year Energy Strategy in early March. The Chapter encourages more people to submit comments before the deadline on March 31, 2025. The Chapter is offering two avenues for engagement: an online tool to submit your comments and an in-person Mock Hearing.

The Chapter with partners 350NH and others has planned a Mock Hearing to allow for a better understanding of the current process for the energy strategy. Members, Supporters, and the public are invited to attend to share personal challenges with the high gas and electric bills and suggestions for the NH Department of Energy. RSVP Today!

Monday, March 24, 2025 Unitarian Universalist Church of Concord @ 6:30-7:30 P.M. Please raise your voice with other community members and demand 'just and reasonable' rates that are thoroughly vetted with planned maintenance and fiscally responsible upgrades. Instead of feeling like we are getting hosed with every electric bill while the utility stockholders are making unimaginable profits, what if electric bills were predictable and affordable?

We invite topics like:

Ratepayers must be protected from rate volatility.
Rates must be “Just and Reasonable”, as required by law.
The NHDOE must require that the utilities demonstrate that their plans are prudent and accountable to the public.
Clean energy options must be encouraged and facilitated with full NHDOE support.
NHDOE must actively participate in the FERC ordered long-term ISO-New England planning process for transmission projects to ensure the projects are needed, that the costs are prudent, and result in just and reasonable rates.
AND your personal experiences and stories describing the current problems, offering solutions and creating a system that will work for everyone.

nhsc-comments-2025-10-y-energy-strategy-final-edit-2-18-2025.pdf

NH Celebrates A Coal-Free Future

New England to be Coal-Free by 2028, Marking Significant Victory for Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign

Last New Hampshire Coal Plants, Merrimack And Schiller, To Close After 25 Years Of Advocacy

March 27, 2024

Contact

Bianca Sanchez, bianca.sanchez@sierraclub.org

BOW, NH. – Today, following negotiations with Sierra Club, The Conservation Law Foundation, and EPA, Granite Shore Power has committed to ending the era of coal in New England by retiring the coal-burning units at Merrimack and Schiller Stations in New Hampshire, by 2028 and 2025 respectively. In total, 560 megawatts of dirty power are set to go offline. After tireless advocacy work from local Sierra Club staff and volunteers, New Hampshire is the 16th coal-free state, the 12th to go coal-free since the Beyond Coal campaign launched in 2010. New England is the nation’s second entirely coal-free region, following the Pacific Northwest.

The 460 MW Merrimack Station has had an outsized impact on local air and water quality. In February 2023, the coal plant’s particulate matter (PM) emissions allegedly exceeded EPA limits by 70%, according to the New Hampshire Department of Environment Services. A successful smoke stack retest has not been completed since and, according to DES, Merrimack Station is currently not in compliance with EPA standards.

Full March 27, 2024 Press Release

Clean Energy Blog from Holly Bender, Sr Director of Energy Campaigns: Sweet Victory in my Beloved New England

Sierra Magazine: Tireless Activism Made It Possible for New England to Go Coal-Free, By Ben Jealous

NH Sierra Club Opposes Granite Bridge

The Granite Bridge proposal is a fracked gas pipeline proposed by Liberty Utilities which would run from Exeter to Manchester, with a 2 billion cubic foot storage tank and processing center in Epping1. This would expand the fossil fuel infrastructure in our state at a time when carbon free energy is not only capable of replacing fossil fuels, but would be cheaper. The most cost effective way to heat a New Hampshire home is using solar power with a heat pump2. Scientists world-wide have proven that we have only twelve years to prevent the worst of climate change disasters3, and this pipeline would only propel us further into the climate crisis.

The NH Sierra Club opposes the Granite Bridge pipeline, and is committed to delaying and preventing it’s construction. Approval will ultimately be granted or denied by the Public Utilities Commission and the Site Evaluation Committee, and we have developed a plan on how to move forward, but we need YOUR help. There are a number of ways to get involved. For more information please contact Jerry Curran at jerryglc44@gmail.com

Volunteer Opportunities may include:

Writing letters
Attending meetings
Making phone calls
Social Media
And more! How would you like to help?

1. https://www.puc.nh.gov/Regulatory/Docketbk/2017/17-198.html
2. https://www.revisionenergy.com/solar-power-for-your-home/solar-powered-heat-pumps/
3. https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/

Useful Terms to Know:

PUC - Public Utilities Commission. A group of three commissioners appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Executive Council. They have jurisdiction over electric, natural gas, water, and sewer utilities for issues such as rates, quality of service, finance, accounting ,and safety. They will investigate if Granite Bridge is needed to meet demand and if it is the best cost option to meet that demand.
SEC - Site Evaluation Committee. A panel composed of six public members appointed by the governor and executive council along with seven state agency representatives for the review, approval, monitoring, and enforcement of compliance for energy facilities. They will investigate if Liberty Utilities has the financial, technical, and managerial capability for the project, and if it will have a negative effect on aesthetics, historic sites, the natural environment, air and water quality, and public health.
Natural Gas - Composed primarily of methane (CH4) and ethane (C2H6). In this case it is extracted through fracking. While burning natural gas produces less carbon than burning coal, it has other disastrous consequences. Natural gas leaks into the atmosphere at every stage of its use, and methane in the atmosphere has 80 times the climate warming impact of CO2 over the first 20 years after it was released.
LNG - Liquified Natural Gas. Natural gas that has been cooled to -260°F so that it is now a liquid for the purpose of shipping and storage. Must be stored in expensive cryogenic tanks.

NH Sierra Club Opposes Northern Pass

On October 5, 2015, the New Hampshire Chapter announced its formal opposition to the Northern Pass Project. In order to challenge the current proposal, the Chapter is requesting copies of right-of-way easement documents from landowners along the entire route, from Deerfield to Pittsburg. The hope is to present evidence that the original intent of the easements, granted as much as 80 years ago, was to allow electricity from the Schiller power plant in Newington to be delivered to remote areas of the state, not to create a superhighway from Canada to other states.

In order to determine whether a case can be made against the project it will be necessary to review actual easement documents to see how they are written. If you, your neighbors, friends, etc., are landowners along the proposed route, and you have such an easement, NH Sierra Club asks that you provide a copy for review by the Chapter's legal team. The more documentation that can be gathered the better!

Take Action!

If you stand with the Club in opposition to Northern Pass, and want to help make this case, please send a copy of your easement to Cathy Corkery at NH Sierra Club, 40 N. Main St., Concord NH 03301 or scan it and send to nhsc603@gmail.com. It is NOT necessary to be a Sierra Club member to participate!

Learn More:

Read our editorial published in the Laconia Citizen
Read our editorial in the Concord Monitor
Please see the Union Leader article about this effort.
To hear all sides of the debate you may also want to listen to a podcast titled "Everything You Wanted to Know About Northern Pass." In the podcast, Roger Wood interviews Martin Murray, communications manager for Eversource, Catherine Corkery, director of the New Hampshire chapter of Sierra Club and Dan Dolan, president of Northeast Power Generators Association.

We don't like the Northeast Energy Direct (NED) Pipeline, Either

The Northeast Energy Direct (NED) Pipeline is a large pipeline expansion project being proposed by Tennessee Gas Pipeline and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners. It includes a large new natural gas transmission line that would extend through Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts. A revision to the plan in December 2014 extends the planned pipeline through 71 miles of southern New Hampshire.

NH Sierra Club opposes this pipeline.

The overall plan ignores formalized goals for fuel diversity in New England;
The pipeline would not fit regional and state energy policies;
The pipeline would increase demand for fracked gas;
Our communities, including important conservation land in the Monadnock area, would be at risk.

Ultimately, the NED pipeline proposal ignores the fastest, cheapest and most effective way to address our state’s energy demands: energy efficiency, weatherization and conservation.