New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 200 homes for a year.*

Air quality & health in Erie County

Erie County has a population of 946,147. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 196,802 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 C.

Federal monitoring recorded 168 days of good air quality and 97 moderate days in the county over the most recent year, with 9 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

Bizer Creek is one of 567 solar plants in New York, and it ranks #477 of 567 by how much electricity it produced in 2024. It sits on Rensch Road in Getzville, in Erie County, and began operating in 2023. Greenbacker Renewable Energy Corporation owns it, and National Grid is the local utility.

The plant uses solar photovoltaic technology, meaning panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity. Its capacity, the most power it can produce at one moment, is 1.5 MW. Over the year it generated 2.0 gigawatt-hours, a measure of energy over time, which is about 200 homes’ worth of electricity. Solar is carbon-free power, since sunshine is the only fuel.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 760 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year compared with producing the same electricity from the national mix of power sources — about the same as the carbon absorbed by about 790 acres of forest in a year.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Getzville is part of the Buffalo area, close to the University at Buffalo. In Buffalo you can stroll the Canalside waterfront on Lake Erie or visit the Buffalo Zoo. Niagara Falls is a short drive to the north.

Local school district

Sweet Home 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.