New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 2,100 homes for a year.*

Air quality & health in Tompkins County

Tompkins County has a population of 103,558. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 20,492 cases in the county.

The county received a grade of B for ozone pollution. No particle pollution grade is available.

Federal monitoring recorded 218 days of good air quality and 20 moderate days in the county over the most recent year, with 0 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

Ellis Solar, near Ithaca in Tompkins County, ranks #19 of 567 solar plants in New York by the electricity it produced in 2024. It uses solar photovoltaic technology, which means panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity with no moving parts. The plant began operating in 2019 and has a capacity of 18.0 MW, a measure of the most power it can send out at any one moment.

Over the year it generated 20.5 gigawatt-hours, a unit of energy that works out to about 2,100 homes’ worth of electricity. Its 2024 output was a 13 percent capacity factor, which compares what it produced with what it could make if it ran at full strength all day, every day. Altus Power America Management, LLC owns it, and NYSEG delivers the power.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 7,900 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 burning about 920,000 gallons of gasoline.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Ithaca sits at the southern end of Cayuga Lake and is home to Cornell University and Ithaca College. Nearby, Taughannock Falls and Buttermilk Falls state parks are known for their dramatic gorges and are popular places for walking and taking in the scenery.

Local school district

Ithaca 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.