New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 130 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

Union Vale is one of 567 solar plants in New York, and it ranks #515 of 567 by the electricity it produced in 2024. It sits on State Route 55 in Lagrangeville, in Dutchess County, and began operating in 2021.

It uses solar photovoltaic technology, meaning panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity with nothing burned along the way. Its capacity is 1.7 MW (a megawatt measures the most power a plant can deliver at one moment). Over the year it generated 1.3 gigawatt-hours (a unit for counting total electricity produced over time), which is about 130 homes. It is owned by Altus Power America Management, LLC, and serves customers of Central Hudson.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 510 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 59,000 gallons of gasoline.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Lagrangeville sits in the heart of Dutchess County, a short drive from Poughkeepsie, home to Vassar College, Marist College, and the Walkway Over the Hudson pedestrian bridge. 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.