2nd largest plant in Massachusetts · 153rd nationally
Canal is a natural gas power plant in Massachusetts with a nameplate capacity of 1,495 MW. It generates roughly 59.8k MWh per year — enough to power about 5,693 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 0% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 2114 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (1,495 MW nameplate × hours in the month). Filled bars are actual net generation reported to EIA Form 923. The gap between them is capacity factor made visible.
| Plant Name | Canal |
|---|---|
| Operator | Canal Generating Llc |
| City | Sandwich |
| County | Barnstable County |
| State | Massachusetts |
| ZIP | 02563 |
| Coordinates | 41.76940, -70.50970 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Petroleum Liquids | Residual Oil | 585 MW | Operating | 1968 |
| 2 | Petroleum Liquids | Residual Oil | 580 MW | Operating | 1976 |
| 3 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 330 MW | Out of Service | 2019 |
| UN2R | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 330 MW | Cancelled | — |
| Owner | Location | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Canal Generating Llc | Sandwich, MA | 10000.0% |
| Canal 3 Generating Llc | Sandwich, MA | 10000.0% |
Ownership reported to EIA Form 860. Percentages reflect reported generator-level ownership share, averaged when a plant has multiple generators.
| CO₂ | 63.2k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 77 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 57 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 2114 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. |
Natural gas plants are the workhorse of the modern grid. Combined-cycle units achieve very high efficiency and can ramp up and down quickly to balance variable renewables. They emit roughly half the CO₂ per MWh of coal and far less of other pollutants, but they still release upstream methane during fuel extraction.