ELAINE PEREIRA

Environmental Manager, Brayton Point Commerce Center

Elaine started working at the Brayton Point Power Station as a chemist in 1995, and has witnessed the site’s many transformations over the years. Once the largest coal-burning power plant in New England, Brayton Point went out of business in 2017 when gas prices plummeted. The closure took a toll on the small town of Somerset, which had grown around the jobs and opportunities that the plant provided for decades. The town’s state representative Pat Haddad wrote a bill to bring offshore wind to Massachusetts and revitalize Somerset. Thanks to her, Somerset will be home to North America’s first offshore wind manufacturing plant.

“The future looks good.  With the offshore wind gathering momentum I really hope the future holds that we have the offshore wind coming here, that we're storing those parts here and that manufacturing starts here.”

Elaine is now the Environmental Manager for the new Brayton Point Commerce Center. She is optimistic about offshore wind and the potential for it to bring jobs and a sense of purpose back to her town and community.