April 2, 2021 (BOSTON, MA) – Massachusetts officials have revoked a key air permit for a proposed biomass burning facility in Springfield. The Palmer Renewable Energy Facility would have burned wood and other materials to generate energy. Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) released the following statement in response.
“The last thing the asthma capital of the U.S. needs is a plant spewing air pollution and further imperiling public health,” said Caitlin Peale Sloan, Interim Director of CLF Massachusetts. “Springfield residents made their opposition to this polluting plant clear, and DEP officials have handed them a win today. The fact is that burning biomass is neither clean nor renewable and it should be left in the past with fossil fuels.”
The proposed plant has been in the planning stages for years, and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) revoked the air permit for lack of timely construction.
CLF experts are available for further comment.
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