In Northfield, Massachusetts, FirstLight Power operates a “pumped storage station” – a giant operation suctioning water out of this river and sending it up a mountain, where it then sits waiting to be released downhill, producing electricity when FirstLight can get a high price.
The water and millions of fish are pulled into the turbines, violently disrupting the natural health of the river.
To send the water (and fish) uphill requires the burning of natural gas, a major contributor to climate change. It takes more energy to send the water up than is generated when it flows down.
Read the other side for more information.
To find out how you can help stop the destruction of our river, contact Connecticut River Defenders
FIRST LIGHT’S NORTHFIELD MOUNTAIN PUMPED STORAGE STATION IS A PROBLEM – Here is a three part solution:
SHUT IT DOWN: FirstLight’s Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage Station is a fossil fuel operation. It burns natural gas in order to force the Connecticut River backward for 5 miles or more, suctioning the water up the mountain for later release at peak prices. This requires 1/3 more energy (gas) than is generated, however holding the water until peak need allows the company to profit from its release. In addition 20 miles of the river are impacted by the river suction, killing 100s of millions of young fish, eggs and larvae in huge turbines. This is a false solution which contributes to the Climate Emergency. We are killing a river in order to kill ourselves.
DEMAND OUR PUBLIC SERVANTS REMOVE THEMSELVES FROM THEIR ENTANGLEMENT WITH FIRSTLIGHT: It is a travesty that the ecosystem of the great Connecticut River is allowed to suffer, while using fossil fuel to create profit for a private entity. FirstLight, a Canadian venture capital investment giant, re-registered the facility into a limited liability tax shelter in Delaware in 2019.
Our state and federal governments are complicit in FirstLight’s actions. Their support for the relicensing of Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage Station is contrary to the needs of the planet and its people. They are not acting in the best interests of the river and betray the public trust.
LAND BACK: A more just, productive and healing use of Northfield Mountain would be for FirstLight to return the land to indigenous peoples. Indigenous stewardship of the land rooted in reciprocity and mutuality would certainly assure a much healthier and safer environment for all. It would free the mountain and river from the extractive exploitation they are now hostage to and remove them from the grips of the governmental agencies who refuse to protect them.
To find out how you can get involved contact Connecticut River Defenders ctriverdefenders@gmail.com
