4th largest plant in New Hampshire · 747th nationally
Merrimack is a coal power plant in New Hampshire with a nameplate capacity of 496 MW. It generates roughly 161.7k MWh per year — enough to power about 15,403 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 4% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 2300 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 (496 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 | Merrimack |
|---|---|
| Operator | Granite Shore Power |
| City | Bow |
| County | Merrimack County |
| State | New Hampshire |
| ZIP | 03301 |
| Coordinates | 43.14110, -71.46920 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 346 MW | Operating | 1968 |
| 1 | Conventional Steam Coal | Bituminous Coal | 114 MW | Operating | 1960 |
| GT1 | Petroleum Liquids | Jet Fuel | 18.6 MW | Operating | 1968 |
| GT2 | Petroleum Liquids | Jet Fuel | 18.6 MW | Operating | 1969 |
| CO₂ | 186.0k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 99 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 284 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 2300 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. |
Coal plants burn pulverized coal to boil water and spin steam turbines. They emit substantial CO₂, SO₂, and NOₓ along with mercury and particulate matter. Modern units include scrubbers and selective catalytic reduction; older units are increasingly being retired or converted to natural gas as economics shift.