254th largest plant in Massachusetts · 8803rd nationally
Palmer is a solar power plant in Massachusetts with a nameplate capacity of 3.5 MW. It generates roughly 5.9k MWh per year — enough to power about 561 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 19% reflects intermittent or peaking operation.
| Plant Name | Palmer |
|---|---|
| Operator | Aes Distributed Energy |
| City | Palmer |
| County | Hampden County |
| State | Massachusetts |
| ZIP | 01069 |
| Coordinates | 42.20382, -72.32536 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAL01 | Solar Photovoltaic | Solar | 3.5 MW | Operating | 2019 |
| NERC Region | NPCC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Iso New England Inc. |
Utility-scale solar farms convert sunlight directly into electricity using photovoltaic panels. They produce zero direct emissions and have no fuel cost, but generation is variable — peaking at midday and falling to zero at night. Capacity factors typically run 18–28% in good locations.