New York power

Generates renewable electricity from the Oswegatchie River, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 850 homes for a year.*

Air quality & health in St. Lawrence County

St. Lawrence County has a population of 106,940. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 22,121 cases in the county.

No ozone or particle pollution grades are available for this county in the most recent report. The figures above describe how many residents live with conditions sensitive to air quality — not measured pollution levels.

Long-term exposure to air pollution has been linked to certain health conditions, particularly for children and older adults. Where electricity comes from affects how much combustion pollution is produced on the grid.

These figures describe the county as a whole and are not specific to this facility. Sources: American Lung Association – State of the Air (New York); U.S. EPA Air Quality Index.

The story behind this New York renewable energy facility

New York has 142 hydropower plants in this category, and Oswegatchie, on Guiles Road in Edwards, ranks #109 of 142 by 2024 electricity produced. It sits on the Oswegatchie River and uses two generators, machines that turn moving water’s energy into electricity, with a rated capacity of 1.8 MW. Capacity is the most the plant can produce at any one moment.

Oswegatchie began operating in 2002 and is a conventional hydroelectric plant, meaning it uses river water flowing through turbines, with no fuel burned. It produced 8.5 gigawatt-hours (a gigawatt-hour is a large unit of electricity), enough for about 850 homes. Erie Boulevard Hydropower LP owns it, and National Grid serves the area.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 3,300 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year compared with producing the same electricity from the national mix of power sources — about the same as the carbon absorbed by about 3,400 acres of forest in a year.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Edwards is in St. Lawrence County, where the St. Lawrence River and the Adirondack foothills frame the landscape. The college towns of Canton, home to St. Lawrence University and SUNY Canton, and Potsdam, home to Clarkson University and SUNY Potsdam, are both nearby.

Local school district

Edwards-Knox Central School District

Common questions

* Homes-powered and emissions comparisons are annual estimates based on national averages from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. “Homes powered” describes a quantity of electricity, not direct service to specific households. How we calculate this.