New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 510 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

Out of 567 solar plants in New York, Source Power NY II – Whaling ranks #230 by the electricity it produced in 2024. It sits on Hulser Road in Utica, owned by Whaling Solar, LLC, and sends its power into National Grid’s local network.

It began operating in 2023 and uses solar photovoltaic technology, meaning panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity, with no fuel burned. Its capacity is 3.2 MW, a megawatt being a measure of how much power it can deliver at one moment. Over the year it produced 5.1 gigawatt-hours, a unit of energy equal to the yearly use of about 510 homes.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 2,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year compared with producing the same electricity from the national mix of power sources — about the same as taking about 420 cars off the road for a year.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Utica sits in the Mohawk Valley, a short drive from Rome, where Fort Stanwix National Monument and the Erie Canal are well-known stops. The eastern shore of Oneida Lake also touches the county, a familiar spot for boating and fishing.

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.