Vermont Construction found itself in severe fiscal distress and Pierce Consulting's plans were decreed to be not only poor but also $2.2 million over budget.

The Moran's three turbine generators and power switchgear assemblies, sold and installed by General Electric, Westinghouse and Allis-Chalmers, accounted for just over $1 million.

The plant – formally named the J. Edward Moran Municipal Generating Station in 1962 – quickly became a source of angst for those who lived and worked downwind of it.

The Moran Plant's role as a backup source of power was important in keeping the city illuminated during the Northeast blackout of 1965.

In 1977, Burlington Electric Department employees tried an experimental conversion of one of the firing units from coal to wood chips mixed with one part of heating oil.

The Moran plant used more than 100,000 t of wood chips for fuel in addition to 60,670,000 pounds (27,520,000 kg), 5,400,000 cubic yards (4,100,000 m3) of natural gas, and 121,011 US gallons (458,080 L) of No.

The aging of the Moran Plant, and its outdated emission controls prompted the Burlington Electric Department to examine ways to provide additional generating capacity to meet the city's needs.

Since then, the building has largely sat vacant, save for a small portion of the basement utilized by the Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center for boat storage.

Mayor Bob Kiss wanted to turn the Moran Plant into a sailing center, children's museum and ice climbing facility.

The basement, although the sluiceways had been dammed in the late 20th century, remained partially flooded until 2010 and contained a considerable amount of submerged industrial and contaminated debris.

Although the turbines were removed on decommissioning in 1986, their massive concrete cradles were left in place – as were three substantial coal hoppers and remnants of industrial fixtures, including the coal conveyor on the upper level of the hopper block and large copper coil units on the second level of the turbine block.

Its applicable National Register Criteria were, "Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history," and "Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction.

"[1] The mid-century coal-fired electricity-generating plant was the only one of its kind erected in Vermont and gained international acclaim for innovative uses and adaptations of existing technologies.