5th largest plant in Massachusetts · 430th nationally
Salem Harbor Power Development Lp is a natural gas power plant in Massachusetts with a nameplate capacity of 798 MW. It generates roughly 697.6k MWh per year — enough to power about 66,434 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 10% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 877 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 (798 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 | Salem Harbor Power Development Lp |
|---|---|
| Operator | Salem Harbor Power Development Lp |
| City | Salem |
| County | Essex County |
| State | Massachusetts |
| ZIP | 01970 |
| Coordinates | 42.52549, -70.87824 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 241 MW | Operating | 2018 |
| 4 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 241 MW | Operating | 2018 |
| 1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 158 MW | Operating | 2018 |
| 2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 158 MW | Operating | 2018 |
| CO₂ | 305.8k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 2 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 20 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 877 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.