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 Albany County

Albany County has a population of 316,659. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 64,742 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 D.

Federal monitoring recorded 184 days of good air quality and 84 moderate days in the county over the most recent year, with 5 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

Medusa NY 1 is one of 567 solar plants in New York, and it ranks #328 of 567 by how much electricity it produced in 2024. It sits in Medusa, in Albany County, and began operating in 2020.

It uses solar photovoltaic technology, meaning panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity with no fuel burned. Its capacity is 2.0 MW, a megawatt being a measure of how much power it can deliver at its best moment. Over the year it produced 3.3 gigawatt-hours, a gigawatt-hour being a very large unit of energy, which is about 330 homes’ worth of electricity.

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 not using about 3,100 barrels of oil.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Medusa is in Albany County, not far from Albany, the state capital, where you’ll find the Empire State Plaza and the University at Albany. The Hudson River waterfront and Thacher State Park in the Helderberg hills are close by, too.

Local school district

Greenville 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.