News

Pioneer Valley Energy Center Reaches Permitting Milestone

April 13, 2012 – ESS Group, Inc. congratulates the Pioneer Valley Energy Center (PVEC) and the PVEC Project Team on its recent permitting completion. This milestone marks the first fully permitted combined cycle power plant in Massachusetts in over a decade. The PVEC was also the first energy generating facility to be reviewed and approved under the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act’s (MEPA) Greenhouse Gas Policy. Over the past five years, ESS and the PVEC Project Team have worked diligently to achieve the desired project design while minimizing impacts to facilitate environmental review and permitting.

The PVEC is a state-of-the-art electric energy generating facility proposed on a 45-acre parcel of industrially-zoned land located in Westfield, Massachusetts . The energy center will incorporate a highly efficient, dual fueled, combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) to achieve reliable operation and low emissions with a nominal power output of 400 megawatts. In addition to the development of the on-site power generation system, the project involves construction of approximately 1.2 miles of natural gas interconnection pipeline and a 1-mile water supply interconnection pipeline.

Although the site is abutted solely by industrial properties, it is located approximately one mile from a large airfield with an active National Guard wing and within an area identified as habitat for the Eastern Box Turtle, a state-listed protected species. These factors required optimization of site layout, elevated structures, and exhaust plumes. In addition, ESS led the comprehensive analysis of environmental impacts including air quality, stormwater and wastewater, wetlands, land use, traffic, visual resources and project alternatives. 

Michael Feinblatt, ESS Project Manager for PVEC, stated, “This permitting milestone represents a significant achievement as PVEC was the first combined-cycle energy facility project in EPA Region 1 to satisfy the EPA’s greenhouse gas Best Available Control Technology (BACT) requirements.  It was also the first project subject to the EPA’s Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) requirements to demonstrate compliance with the newly promulgated 1-hour Nitrogen Dioxide and Sulfur Dioxide National Ambient Air Quality Standards. PVEC has set the bar for the permitting of future combined-cycle energy generating facility projects subject to these and other state and federal permitting requirements.”

About ESS Group, Inc.

ESS Group, Inc. is a multi-disciplinary environmental consulting and engineering firm with offices in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Virginia. Our team is comprised of scientists, engineers, and environmental specialists who provide full life-cycle engineering and consulting services, with a primary focus on energy projects. For more information, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .