Umass Boston

☀ SolarCommercial Non-CHP8 MW capacity

82nd largest plant in Massachusetts · 6199th nationally

Umass Boston is a solar power plant in Massachusetts with a nameplate capacity of 8.1 MW. It generates roughly 659 MWh per year — enough to power about 62 average U.S. homes.

Its capacity factor of 1% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 170 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits below the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.

PeakingMid-meritBaseload0%40%80%100%1%
Peaking — intermittent or backup
Capacity8 MWnameplate
Annual Generation659 MWhEPA eGRID
Capacity Factor1%of theoretical max
Annual CO₂56metric tons

Location

Plant NameUmass Boston
OperatorMss Energy Holdings, Llc (D.b.a. Calibrant Energy)
CityDorchester
CountySuffolk County
StateMassachusetts
ZIP02125
Coordinates42.31298, -71.03637

This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.

Natural GasOilWindSolarBiomass

Generators (18)

IDTechnologyFuelCapacityStatusOnline
060GPetroleum LiquidsDistillate Oil1.6 MWOperating2012
050GPetroleum LiquidsDistillate Oil0.8 MWOperating2001
090GPetroleum LiquidsDistillate Oil0.6 MWOperating1972
030GPetroleum LiquidsDistillate Oil0.5 MWOperating2014
080D2Petroleum LiquidsDistillate Oil0.5 MWOperating1972
BATT1BatteriesBattery0.5 MWOperating2021
RHGPetroleum LiquidsDistillate Oil0.5 MWOperating2017
SOL2Solar PhotovoltaicSolar0.5 MWOperating2021
020GPetroleum LiquidsDistillate Oil0.4 MWOperating1972
080GPetroleum LiquidsDistillate Oil0.4 MWOperating1972
WGPetroleum LiquidsDistillate Oil0.4 MWOperating2018
010GPetroleum LiquidsDistillate Oil0.3 MWStandby2006
080D1Petroleum LiquidsDistillate Oil0.3 MWOperating1972
110GPetroleum LiquidsDistillate Oil0.2 MWOperating1972
120GPetroleum LiquidsDistillate Oil0.2 MWOperating1972
SOL1Solar PhotovoltaicSolar0.2 MWOperating2021
160GPetroleum LiquidsDistillate Oil0.1 MWOperating2001
200GPetroleum LiquidsDistillate Oil0.1 MWOperating1999

Emissions (annual)

CO₂56 metric tons
NOₓ1 metric tons
CO₂ Rate170 lb/MWh
This plant169 lb/MWhU.S. grid average800 lb/MWhNatural gas combined-cycle average900 lb/MWhCoal plant average2,100 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.

Grid context

NERC RegionNPCC
Balancing AuthorityIso New England Inc.

About Solar plants

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.

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