77th largest plant in Connecticut · 8126th nationally
Fairfield University Chp Plant is a natural gas power plant in Connecticut with a nameplate capacity of 4.5 MW. It generates roughly 25.3k MWh per year — enough to power about 2,411 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 64% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 746 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits below the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Fairfield University Chp Plant |
|---|---|
| Operator | Fairfield University |
| City | Fairfield |
| County | Fairfield County |
| State | Connecticut |
| ZIP | 06824 |
| Coordinates | 41.15890, -73.25720 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHP1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 4.5 MW | Operating | 2007 |
| CO₂ | 9.4k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 26 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 746 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.