CANAL

How CANAL compares

With 1,165 MW of capacity, CANAL is the largest of the 125 operating power plants Bywatts maps in Massachusetts and the largest of the 13 operating Oil plants in the state. It accounts for about 75% of Massachusetts's operating Oil capacity and 13% of all operating capacity in the state. Nationally it is the 5th-largest of the 544 operating Oil plants in the database. Commissioned in 1968, it is older than 81% of the 122 operating Massachusetts plants with a recorded commissioning year. Its operator, NRG CANAL LLC, runs 3 operating plants in Massachusetts totaling 1,179 MW. It shares Barnstable County with 3 other operating plants, including MA MILITARY RESERVATION WIND PROJECT and NOTUS WIND 1.

EIA-860 lists 3 generators at the site with 1,495 MW of nameplate capacity, all petroleum liquids technology (this page's HIFLD capacity figure is 1,165 MW). Net generation was 289 GWh in 2024 (a 2.2% capacity factor). Its generators came online between 1968 and 2019.

Grid neighborhood

The closest transmission line found within 10 miles is a 345 kV line owned by NSTAR ELECTRIC COMPANY, under 0.1 miles away. Another 6 operating power plants totaling 119 MW sit within 25 miles; the largest is SEMASS RESOURCE RECOVERY (99 MW, Biomass). Within 50 miles is one mapped data center, Markley Group One Summer Street Boston in Boston, about 49.3 miles away.

Computed by Bywatts from HIFLD power plant and transmission line records, EIA-860/923 survey data and PeeringDB data center locations; distances are straight-line. Sources and methodology