Anbaric Renewable Energy Center coming to Brayton Point

SOMERSET – It’s time to stop calling it “the former Brayton Point power station” and start calling it the Anbaric Renewable Energy Center.

Commercial Development Company, which owns the site of the defunct coal-fired power plant on Brayton Point, announced Monday that it will host the newest facility of the Wakefield-based company Anbaric.

“While the South Coast has lost a coal plant, it’s quickly becoming the nexus of a new clean energy economy and emerging as one of the great stories in the world,” said Anbaric CEO Edward Krapels in a recent press release. “This agreement is a symbol of the change that’s coming – and it promises to be a very powerful economic driver in the region.”

In the weeks leading up to last month’s highly publicized cooling tower demolition, Commercial Development Company had said the site would be developed to support local wind energy infrastructure, but it was never specified exactly what kind of work would be done at the site or who any future tenants would be.

According to the company, the Anbaric Renewable Energy Center will be a 1,200-megawatt high-voltage direct current converter. The company also plans to develop a 400-megawatt battery storage facility onsite. Combined, the company estimates this will represent a $650 million investment.

“We see Anbaric as a natural fit with the development of the Brayton Point Commerce Center,” said Commercial Development Company Vice President Stephen Collins.

Formerly known as the Brayton Point Power Station, the site that will now support the local wind energy had been a part of the coal infrastructure for the better part of 60 years. The oldest parts of the facility were built in 1957. At its peak, it was capable of generating 1,600 megawatts – slightly higher than Abaric plans to generate – and employed more than 250 full-time workers.

It’s estimated that the facility was capable of powering 1.5 million homes. When it stopped producing power in 2017, it was the last coal-fired power plant operational in Massachusetts.