128th largest plant in Massachusetts · 6916th nationally
Smith College Central Heating Plant is a natural gas power plant in Massachusetts with a nameplate capacity of 5.3 MW. It generates roughly 15.1k MWh per year — enough to power about 1,437 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 33% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 604 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits below the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Smith College Central Heating Plant |
|---|---|
| Operator | The Trustees Of Smith College |
| City | Northampton |
| County | Hampshire County |
| State | Massachusetts |
| ZIP | 01063 |
| Coordinates | 42.31250, -72.63944 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GT-1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 5.3 MW | Operating | 2008 |
| CO₂ | 4.6k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 12 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 604 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.