New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 190 homes for a year.*

Air quality & health in Dutchess County

Dutchess County has a population of 297,150. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 62,789 cases in the county.

Federal monitoring recorded 252 days of good air quality and 17 moderate days in the county over the most recent year, with 3 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

New York has 567 solar plants in this category, and JB-Tobin 2 in La Grange, Dutchess County, ranks #478 of 567 by the electricity it produced in 2024. It began operating in 2021 and is owned by AES Clean Energy, with its power delivered through Central Hudson.

This solar photovoltaic plant, meaning panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity, has a capacity of 1.6 MW, a measure of the most power it can send out at any moment. Last year it produced 1.9 gigawatt-hours, a unit of energy equal to about 190 homes’ yearly use. Because the sun doesn’t shine around the clock, the plant ran at 14 percent of its maximum possible output over the year.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 750 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 780,000 pounds of coal.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Dutchess County is easy to explore from La Grange. Poughkeepsie is home to Vassar College and Marist College, and the Walkway Over the Hudson, a pedestrian bridge, crosses the river there. Farther along the river, Beacon is known for the Dia Beacon art museum.

Local school district

Arlington 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.