New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 150 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

New York has 567 solar plants in this category, and the Dryden Rd #2 Community Solar Farm, at 210 Ferguson Road in Dryden, ranks #501 of 567 by 2024 electricity produced. It uses solar photovoltaic technology, meaning panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity. It began operating in 2019 and is owned by Scale Sustainable I, LLC, with a single generator and a capacity of 1.3 MW (a megawatt is a measure of the most power a facility can deliver at one moment).

In 2024 it produced 1.5 gigawatt-hours (a unit of energy; one gigawatt-hour is a billion watt-hours), which is about 150 homes’ worth of electricity. It serves the NYSEG area. Solar is renewable and carbon-free in operation.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 590 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 230 tons of waste out of a landfill.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Dryden sits in Tompkins County, a short drive from Ithaca, home to Cornell University and Ithaca College at the southern end of Cayuga Lake. The area is also known for Taughannock Falls and Buttermilk Falls state parks, which center on dramatic gorges.

Local school district

Dryden 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.