New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 300 homes for a year.*

Air quality & health in Genesee County

Genesee County has a population of 57,529. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 12,203 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 567 solar plants in this category, and Lichtenthal, in Batavia, ranks #367 of 567 by 2024 electricity produced. It’s a solar photovoltaic plant, meaning panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity, and it has run since 2018 with a capacity of 2.0 MW (a megawatt is a measure of how much power it can deliver at once).

In 2024 it generated 3.0 gigawatt-hours, a way of counting electricity over time, roughly what about 300 homes use in a year. It’s owned by AES Distributed Energy and feeds into the National Grid system, and like all solar it makes electricity without burning anything.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 1,100 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year compared with producing the same electricity from the national mix of power sources — about the same as keeping about 450 tons of waste out of a landfill.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Batavia sits midway between Buffalo and Rochester, in the farm country of western New York. Darien Lake amusement park is a short drive away, and the surrounding countryside gives the area its open, rural feel.

Local school district

Batavia City 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.