New York power

Generates renewable electricity from the Hudson River, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 7,900 homes for a year.*

Air quality & health in Saratoga County

Saratoga County has a population of 238,711. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 51,023 cases in the county.

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

Federal monitoring recorded 233 days of good air quality and 10 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

Upper Mechanicville is one of 142 hydropower plants in New York, and it ranks #17 of those 142 by the electricity it produced in 2024. Hydropower means using flowing water to spin a turbine, which in turn drives a generator that makes electricity. This plant sits on the Hudson River in Stillwater, Saratoga County, and has operated since 1983 under New York State Elec & Gas Corp, known as NYSEG.

In 2024 it produced 78.7 gigawatt-hours, which is a large unit of electricity and works out to about 7,900 homes’ worth of yearly use. Its two generators can together deliver up to 16.4 MW, and a megawatt is simply a measure of how much power a plant can supply at one moment.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 30,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year compared with producing the same electricity from the national mix of power sources — about the same as not burning about 3,500,000 gallons of gasoline.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Stillwater sits in Saratoga County, a short drive from Saratoga Springs, which is known for the Saratoga Race Course, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and Saratoga Spa State Park. Saratoga Lake lies just outside the city, and the Hudson River runs through the area.

Local school district

Mechanicville City 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.