New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 500 homes for a year.*

Air quality & health in Suffolk County

Suffolk County has a population of 1,523,170. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 316,289 cases in the county.

The county received a grade of F for ozone pollution. For particle pollution — the fine soot and dust that can be breathed deep into the lungs — it received a grade of A.

Federal monitoring recorded 235 days of good air quality and 76 moderate days in the county over the most recent year, with 3 days rated unhealthy for sensitive groups.

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

Of the 567 solar plants in New York, Cohalan in Central Islip ranks #236 by the electricity it produced in 2024. It’s a solar photovoltaic plant, meaning panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity, and it has run since 2012 with a capacity of 4.0 MW, the most power it can send out at one moment.

Last year it generated 5.0 gigawatt-hours, a gigawatt-hour being a very large unit of electricity, or about 500 homes’ worth over a year. Because the sun doesn’t shine around the clock, it ran at a capacity factor of 14 percent, which is the share of its maximum output it actually delivered over the year.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 1,900 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year compared with producing the same electricity from the national mix of power sources — about the same as not using about 4,800 barrels of oil.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Central Islip sits in Suffolk County, on Long Island. Stony Brook University is also in the county, and Fire Island’s beaches are a well-known stretch of shoreline. Farther east, you’ll find the Hamptons, Montauk Point, and the North Fork wine country.

Local school district

Central Islip Union Free 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.