New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 840 homes for a year.*

Air quality & health in Niagara County

Niagara County has a population of 209,457. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 44,812 cases in the county.

The county received a grade of B for ozone pollution. No particle pollution grade is available.

Federal monitoring recorded 240 days of good air quality and 21 moderate days in the county over the most recent year, with 1 day 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 LR Wheatfield Solar 1, in Wheatfield on Lockport Road, ranks #47 of 567 by 2024 electricity produced. It is a solar photovoltaic plant, meaning panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity with no moving parts or fuel, and it began operating in 2020. Its capacity is 5.0 MW, a megawatt being a measure of how much power a plant can deliver at one moment.

In 2024 it produced 8.4 gigawatt-hours, a gigawatt-hour being a large unit for counting electricity over time, or about 840 homes’ worth of yearly use. The electricity is carbon-free to generate, since sunlight is the only input. The plant is owned by LR Wheatfield Solar 1, LLC and serves the National Grid area.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 3,300 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year compared with producing the same electricity from the national mix of power sources — about the same as keeping about 1,300 tons of waste out of a landfill.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Wheatfield sits in Niagara County, close to Niagara Falls State Park and the river gorge. Farther along the Niagara River, the village of Lewiston and Fort Niagara State Park mark where the river meets Lake Ontario.

Local school district

Niagara-Wheatfield 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.