Potter Station 2

Gas power plant in Massachusetts, United States of America. Approximate location 42.235, -70.9672.

GasMassachusettsUnited States of AmericaCO₂ reported

Potter Station 2 is a 217 MW gas power station in Massachusetts, United States of America. It is operated by Town of Braintree - (MA). Based on reported annual generation of 15 GWh, it can supply roughly 4,257 homes. It ranks #1171 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1994, it is around 32 years old — long-established. Its measured emissions of 18,347 t CO₂/yr (US EPA GHGRP) are equivalent to about 4,277 cars driven for a year. In context, gas supplies about 40.0% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

217MW installed capacity
15GWh reported / yr
4,257homes powered
18,347t CO₂ / yr (US EPA GHGRP)
1994commissioned (~32 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0001660.

18,347 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

4,277passenger cars driven for a year
2,393homes' yearly energy use
305,783tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions reported to US EPA GHGRP.

Reported generation trend

2013: 70 GWh20132014: 80 GWh20142015: 0 GWh20152016: 0 GWh20162017: 0 GWh20172018: 47 GWh20182019: 15 GWh201980 GWh

Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Town of Braintree - (MA). All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. It sits in a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 42.2°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

9.9°Cannual mean temp
3,194heating degree-days (base 18°C)
270cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
37 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -2 °CJF: -1 °CFM: 3 °CMA: 8 °CAM: 14 °CMJ: 19 °CJJ: 22 °CJA: 22 °CAS: 17 °CSO: 11 °CON: 6 °CND: 1 °CD22 °C

Heating degree-days here run 30% above the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 68/100 — this site sits in the top third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

In colder climates, uninsulated hot equipment (boilers, turbines, valves, steam lines) loses proportionally more heat to ambient air — exactly the loss Inzonex modular insulation is designed to cut.

A gas turbine here also runs ~0% below its ISO (15°C) rating at this annual mean (typical CCGT curve, estimate).

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #671 largest gas power plant of 1818 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 1818 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 546,436 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 42.235, -70.9672 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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