New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 800 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

Of the 567 solar plants in New York, Lansing Renewables ranks #90 by the electricity it produced in 2024. It sits on Jerry Smith Road in Lansing, in Tompkins County, and began operating in 2020. Its output for the year was 8.0 gigawatt-hours (a gigawatt-hour is a way of counting a large amount of electricity over time), which is about 800 homes’ worth.

The plant uses solar photovoltaic panels, which turn sunlight directly into electricity without burning anything. It also includes batteries, which store power for later use. Its capacity is 8.0 MW (a megawatt measures the most electricity a plant can deliver at one moment).

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 3,100 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 360,000 gallons of gasoline.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Lansing is a short drive from Ithaca, home to Cornell University and Ithaca College, at the southern end of Cayuga Lake. Taughannock Falls and Buttermilk Falls state parks, both known for their dramatic gorges, are also close by.

Local school district

Lansing 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.