New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 450 homes for a year.*

Air quality & health in Suffolk County

Suffolk County has a population of 1,523,170. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 316,289 cases in the county.

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

Federal monitoring recorded 235 days of good air quality and 76 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

Of the 567 solar plants in New York, the Calverton plant in Suffolk County ranks #251 by the electricity it produced in 2024, placing it somewhere in the middle of the pack. It began operating in 2015 and uses solar photovoltaic technology, meaning panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity.

Its capacity is 3.0 MW, a megawatt being a measure of the most power a plant can deliver at one moment. Over the year it produced 4.5 gigawatt-hours of electricity, a gigawatt-hour being a large unit of energy, and that is about 450 homes’ worth of power.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 1,700 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 using about 4,300 barrels of oil.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Calverton sits on Long Island’s East End, within easy reach of the North Fork wine country and the Hamptons. Montauk Point lies farther out along the island, and Fire Island’s beaches and Stony Brook University are also in Suffolk County.

Local school district

Riverhead 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.