184th largest plant in Massachusetts · 8089th nationally
Norton Powerhouse 2 is a natural gas power plant in Massachusetts with a nameplate capacity of 4.6 MW. It generates roughly 28.9k MWh per year — enough to power about 2,756 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 72% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 1202 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Norton Powerhouse 2 |
|---|---|
| Operator | Norton Powerhouse 2 |
| City | Worcester |
| County | Worcester County |
| State | Massachusetts |
| ZIP | 01615 |
| Coordinates | 42.29900, -71.80400 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEN3 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 4.6 MW | Operating | 2022 |
| CO₂ | 17.4k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 48 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1202 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.