Country United States Status Operating Owner Exelon | Location Everett, Massachusetts Nameplate capacity 2,002 MW | |
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Operator(s) Exelon Generation Company, LLC, a subsidy of Exelon Similar Brayton Point Power St, Dresden Generating Station, Wellfleet Drive‑In Theater | ||
The Mystic Generating Station is a power station in the state of Massachusetts which has the highest nameplate capacity of any station in the state. It is capable of burning both natural gas and petroleum, but mostly burns natural gas.
The plant currently consists of eight separate generating units; Mystic 8 and 9 are six natural gas units which can produce 690.9 MW, Mystic 7 is a natural gas or petroleum unit which produces 577.6 MW, and Mystic Jet is small petroleum fueled unit which produces 8.6 MW in periods of high demand.
History
Mystic Generating Station was originally owned and operated by Boston Edison after its construction in the early 20th century. It originally operated three natural gas units (Mystic 1-3) which have since been decommissioned. In the 1950s, the station was expanded to include three additional units (Mystic 4-6) which had a combined output of 468 MW until their retirement in 2003. Mystic 7 was constructed in 1975 and remains the oldest operating unit at the station. Mystic 8 and 9 were constructed in 1999 and make up the majority of the station's electrical production.
In the mid 1990s, the state of Massachusetts began to deregulate the electrical market. This led to the sale of the Mystic Generating Station to Sithe Energies who started a large capital investment in the construction of Mystic 8 and 9 which was completed in 2003. Sithe was acquired by Exelon in late 2003 who ran into financial difficulties which resulted in BNP Paribas taking control of the station. BNP Paribas sold the station soon after its acquisition to Boston Generating. Boston Generating ended up declaring chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010 and was sold to Constellation Energy. Constellation Energy and Exelon merged in March 2012, returning ownership to Exelon. Exelon continues to operate the station.
Recently, the Toxics Action Center has targeted the Mystic Generating Station as one of the five largest polluting power stations in the state. Other groups have also become concerned that the plant relies too heavily on Distrigas Liquefied Natural Gas from Yemen which has been experiencing political unrest.