New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 250 homes for a year.*

Air quality & health in Monroe County

Monroe County has a population of 748,482. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 154,303 cases in the county.

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

Federal monitoring recorded 195 days of good air quality and 72 moderate days in the county over the most recent year, with 7 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

Out of 567 solar plants in New York, this one in Webster ranks #417 by how much electricity it produced in 2024. Monroe County Sites A & B, owned by AES Distributed Energy, began operating in 2017 and uses solar photovoltaic technology, which means panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity with no moving parts.

In 2024 it produced 2.5 gigawatt-hours, a gigawatt-hour being a way of counting a large amount of electricity over time, which is about 250 homes’ worth of use. Its two generators have a combined capacity of 3.4 MW, a megawatt being the most power the plant can deliver at one moment, and it feeds the RG&E system.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 970 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 burning about 1,000,000 pounds of coal.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Webster sits just east of Rochester, home to the University of Rochester, RIT, and Highland Park, with the Lake Ontario shoreline close by. To the southeast, Erie Canal villages such as Pittsford and Fairport line the canal path, a popular spot for walking and biking.

Local school district

Webster 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.