34th largest plant in Massachusetts · 3826th nationally
Mass Inst Tech Cntrl Utilities/Cogen Plt is a natural gas power plant in Massachusetts with a nameplate capacity of 43.4 MW. It generates roughly 204.5k MWh per year — enough to power about 19,479 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 54% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 615 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits below the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Mass Inst Tech Cntrl Utilities/Cogen Plt |
|---|---|
| Operator | Massachusetts Inst Of Tech |
| City | Cambridge |
| County | Middlesex County |
| State | Massachusetts |
| ZIP | 02139 |
| Coordinates | 42.36099, -71.09388 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GT200 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 21.7 MW | Operating | 2021 |
| GT300 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 21.7 MW | Operating | 2021 |
| CTG1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 21.2 MW | Retired | 1995 |
| CO₂ | 62.9k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 2 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 172 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 615 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.