New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 330 homes for a year.*

Air quality & health in Erie County

Erie County has a population of 946,147. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 196,802 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 C.

Federal monitoring recorded 168 days of good air quality and 97 moderate days in the county over the most recent year, with 9 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

Steel Sun 2 is one of 567 solar plants in New York in its category, ranking #327 of 567 by 2024 electricity produced. It sits in Lackawanna, in Erie County, and began operating in 2019. It uses solar photovoltaic technology, meaning panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity with no fuel burned.

In 2024 the plant generated 3.3 gigawatt-hours, a unit that measures a large amount of electricity over time, which is about 330 homes’ worth of power for a year. Its capacity is 2.0 MW, or megawatts, the most power it can send out at one moment. Over the year it ran at about 19 percent of that maximum, which is typical for sunlight-driven plants.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 1,300 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 490 tons of waste out of a landfill.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Lackawanna sits just south of Buffalo, where the Canalside waterfront on Lake Erie, the Buffalo Zoo, and the University at Buffalo are all easy trips. Niagara Falls is a short drive north for a classic day out.

Local school district

Lackawanna 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.