57.8 MW Muni. Waste operating in Essex, MA — ISO New England Inc.
57.8 MW
Nameplate Capacity
1
Generators
unit
Municipal Solid Waste
Technology
1985
Operating Since
Coordinates
42.4470, -70.9804
County
Essex, MA
Nearby Plants
| Field | EIA | GEM | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Wheelabrator Environmental Systems | Wheelabrator Environmental Systems | — |
| Owner(s) | Wheelabrator Environmental Systems | Wheelabrator Technologies Holdings | WIN Waste Innovations |
| Status | Operating | operating | — |
Wheelabrator Saugus is a 57.8 MW waste-to-energy power plant located in Essex County, Massachusetts. The plant, which began operating in 1985, utilizes municipal solid waste (MSW) as its primary fuel source. It has one generator and is owned by Wheelabrator Technologies Holdings, with Wheelabrator Environmental Systems as the operator. The plant is interconnected with the ISO New England Inc. balancing authority and is within the Northeast Power Coordinating Council (NPCC) NERC region.
In the most recent year with available data, Wheelabrator Saugus generated 185,056 MWh of electricity, achieving a capacity factor of 36.6%. The facility is ranked as the second largest of five MSW plants in Massachusetts and the 16th largest of 56 MSW plants nationally. The plant has been the subject of four news articles, with three focused on industry topics and one on regulatory matters.
Generated from EIA, GEM, and public data sources
NERC Region
NPCC
Balancing Authority
ISO New England Inc.
Grid Voltage
115 kV
Regulatory Status
NR
Entity Type
Commercial
Sector
IPP Non-CHP
18.0K MWh
Latest Month
185.1K MWh
Annual Generation
36.6%
Capacity Factor
No financial data available for this plant.
Point of Interconnection
Nearest Substation
Wheelabrator Saugus Substation · 115 kV
Substation Distance
0.079 km
Operator
Wheelabrator Technologies
Coord Source
OSM spatial
Market Position
ISO/RTO Market
ISO-NE
LMP Node
UN.RESCOS 115 RESC
Pricing Hub
.H.INTERNAL_HUB
Node Source
Curated node match
Trash is a burning question with mixed answers in some Mass. towns
Massachusetts uses incinerators to burn most of its trash. Some activists want that to stop, because incinerators emit pollution.
Wasting a Wetland with Trash Ash
A waste incinerator landfill in an estuary north of Boston and add half a million more tons of toxic ash.
Burned: Why Waste Incineration Is Harmful
As legislation to protect the environment moves through Congress, polluting industries are using greenwashing terms like "waste to energy"...
It’s time for the nation’s oldest trash incinerator, in Saugus, to go
REVERE — On the Salem Turnpike in Saugus, right on the fragile Rumney Marsh Reservation, sits a monument to failure. The Wheelabrator trash...
Last updated 2026-03-26
View all 10 articles