The Canal Generating Plant is a petroleum and natural gas electrical power station in Sandwich, Massachusetts. Canal 1, a baseload unit, began operation in 1968 and was for many years the most efficient oil burning plant in the US. Canal 2, a cycling unit, began operation in the mid-1970s. The plant was bought by Mirant in 1999, now GenOn Energy Holdings division of NRG Energy. It is located on Cape Cod Canal. In its heyday, the Canal plant generated the vast majority of the Cape's power, but today functions only as a peaking plant.