New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 310 homes for a year.*

Air quality & health in Onondaga County

Onondaga County has a population of 467,873. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 96,258 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 217 days of good air quality and 52 moderate days in the county over the most recent year, with 4 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

Sunvestment Energy Group NY 63 LLC is one of 567 solar plants in New York in this category, and it ranks #360 of 567 by 2024 electricity produced. It sits on Fisher Road in East Syracuse, in Onondaga County, and began operating in 2020.

It uses solar photovoltaic technology, which means panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity without burning anything. Its capacity is 2.0 MW, a megawatt being a measure of the most power it can deliver at one moment. Over the year it produced 3.1 gigawatt-hours, a gigawatt-hour being a large unit of electricity, and that is about 310 homes’ worth of power.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 1,200 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 460 tons of waste out of a landfill.*

Nearby places worth exploring

East Syracuse sits just outside Syracuse, home to Syracuse University, and Onondaga Lake Park runs along the lakeshore. Green Lakes State Park is known for its glacial lakes and trails.

Local school district

Jamesville-DeWitt 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.