16th largest plant in Massachusetts · 1323rd nationally
Kendall Square Station is a natural gas power plant in Massachusetts with a nameplate capacity of 235 MW. It generates roughly 1.5M MWh per year — enough to power about 145,108 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 74% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 683 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits below the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (235 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 | Kendall Square Station |
|---|---|
| Operator | Kendall Green Energy, Llc |
| City | Cambridge |
| County | Middlesex County |
| State | Massachusetts |
| ZIP | 02142 |
| Coordinates | 42.36330, -71.07920 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEN4 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 186 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| 3 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 27.2 MW | Operating | 1958 |
| 2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 23.0 MW | Retired | 1951 |
| JET1 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 21.3 MW | Operating | 1970 |
| JET2 | Petroleum Liquids | Jet Fuel | 20.0 MW | Retired | 1972 |
| 1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 17.2 MW | Retired | 1949 |
| CO₂ | 520.0k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 3 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 36 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 683 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.