After more than a year of intense planning and debate, a Vernon, Vt., natural gas plant project has come to an abrupt halt.
Energy giant Kinder Morgan decided this week to pull the plug — at least for now — on its Northeast Energy Direct pipeline, and that means there will be no fuel supply for a proposed 600-megawatt gas-fired Vernon plant.
Local officials noted that Kinder Morgan has suspended the pipeline project, meaning work might resume. But they’re also prepared to move on to other projects that could help replace tax revenue and jobs lost due to the closing of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant.
“I think what we discovered is that we can get a lot of town support for something that we research properly, if it’s the right fit,” Vernon Planning Commission Vice Chairwoman Janet Rasmussen said.
The Vernon gas plant concept surfaced last year as Planning Commission members talked with two area residents developing the proposal — Don Campbell, of Winhall, Vt., who has a background in utility investment, and Hervey Scudder, of Brattleboro, Vt.
At one point, Campbell described the project as “the sun, the moon and the stars in alignment.” Vernon has extensive electrical infrastructure remaining from Vermont Yankee, and Kinder Morgan had designed its gas pipeline to pass through northern Massachusetts. Only a 7-mile spur would have been necessary to tie the pipeline to a Vernon plant, officials said.
Opponents raised concerns about safety and environmental impacts, but advocates pointed to economic benefits as well as the need for more regional power generation.
Kinder Morgan blamed “inadequate capacity commitments from prospective customers.”