New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 250 homes for a year.*

Air quality & health in Albany County

Albany County has a population of 316,659. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 64,742 cases in the county.

The county received a grade of B for ozone pollution. For particle pollution — the fine soot and dust that can be breathed deep into the lungs — it received a grade of D.

Federal monitoring recorded 184 days of good air quality and 84 moderate days in the county over the most recent year, with 5 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 Guilderland Solar, near Altamont in Albany County, ranks #420 of 567 by the electricity it produced in 2024. It began operating in 2023 and uses solar photovoltaic technology, which means panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity, with no fuel burned along the way.

Its output for the year was 2.5 gigawatt-hours (a gigawatt-hour is a large measure of electricity, equal to a million kilowatt-hours), or about 250 homes’ worth of power. Its capacity is 5.0 MW, a megawatt being the most electricity a plant can send out at one moment. The electricity moves onto the National Grid system.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 960 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 210 cars off the road for a year.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Altamont sits in the Helderberg foothills of Albany County, not far from Albany, the state capital, home to the Empire State Plaza and the University at Albany. The Hudson River waterfront is close by, and Thacher State Park, set in the Helderberg hills, is a popular spot for views over the Hudson Valley.

Local school district

Guilderland 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.