New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 200 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

New York has 567 solar plants in this category, and the Holtsville Solar Project, on Buckley Road in Suffolk County, ranks #470 of 567 by 2024 electricity produced. It uses solar photovoltaic technology, meaning panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity with no moving parts. It began operating in 2017 and sells into the grid served by PSEG Long Island.

Its capacity is 1.2 MW (a megawatt is a measure of how much power a plant can deliver at one moment, and this is enough for about 200 homes). In 2024 it produced 2.0 gigawatt-hours (a unit of energy, and that amount covers about 200 homes for a year). Solar plants only generate while the sun shines, so output follows the weather and the seasons.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 780 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year compared with producing the same electricity from the national mix of power sources — about the same as taking about 170 cars off the road for a year.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Holtsville sits in central Suffolk County on Long Island. Stony Brook University is also in the county, and Fire Island’s beaches are a popular summer destination. Farther east, Long Island’s East End is known for the Hamptons, Montauk Point, and the North Fork wine country.

Local school district

Sachem 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.