New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 550 homes for a year.*

Air quality & health in Oneida County

Oneida County has a population of 227,555. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 47,467 cases in the county.

Federal monitoring recorded 211 days of good air quality and 50 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

DOCCS Midstate is a solar plant in Marcy, Oneida County, one of 567 solar plants in New York and ranked #215 of 567 by the electricity it produced in 2024. It uses solar photovoltaic technology, meaning panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity with no fuel burned.

The plant began operating in 2021 and has a rated capacity of 3.8 MW, a megawatt being the most power it can deliver at one moment. Over the year it produced 5.5 gigawatt-hours, a gigawatt-hour being a large measure of electricity over time, which is roughly the amount used by about 550 homes. National Grid serves the area.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 2,100 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year compared with producing the same electricity from the national mix of power sources — about the same as keeping about 830 tons of waste out of a landfill.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Marcy sits in the Mohawk Valley, close to Utica and Rome. Rome is home to Fort Stanwix National Monument and sits along the Erie Canal. The eastern shore of Oneida Lake also touches the county.

Local school district

Whitesboro 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.