51st largest plant in Connecticut · 5615th nationally
Backus Microgrid Project is a oil power plant in Connecticut with a nameplate capacity of 10.4 MW. It generates roughly 1.0k MWh per year — enough to power about 97 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 1% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1629 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Backus Microgrid Project |
|---|---|
| Operator | Connecticut Mun Elec Engy Coop |
| City | Norwich |
| County | New London County |
| State | Connecticut |
| ZIP | 06360 |
| Coordinates | 41.54278, -72.09361 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMP1 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 2.6 MW | Operating | 2014 |
| BMP2 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 2.6 MW | Operating | 2014 |
| BMP3 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 2.6 MW | Operating | 2014 |
| BMP4 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 2.6 MW | Operating | 2014 |
| CO₂ | 832 metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 1 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 16 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1629 lb/MWh |
Annual totals and CO₂ rate reported by EPA eGRID for 2023. Reference averages are approximate U.S.-wide figures from the same dataset.
| NERC Region | NPCC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Iso New England Inc. |
Oil-fired plants typically run only during peak demand or grid emergencies because oil is expensive compared to gas and coal. They have the highest CO₂ emissions per MWh of any common generation technology.