New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 330 homes for a year.*

Air quality & health in Orange County

Orange County has a population of 407,470. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 78,693 cases in the county.

No ozone grade is available for the county in the most recent report. For particle pollution — the fine soot and dust that can be breathed deep into the lungs — it received a grade of B.

Federal monitoring recorded 228 days of good air quality and 38 moderate days in the county over the most recent year, with 1 day 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

Chester CSG is one of 567 solar plants in New York’s clean-energy category, and it ranks #312 of 567 by electricity produced in 2024. It sits on Black Meadow Road in Chester, Orange County, and has been generating power since 2019. Its panels use solar photovoltaic technology, which means sunlight is turned directly into electricity with no fuel burned.

Over the year it produced 3.3 gigawatt-hours, a gigawatt-hour being a very large measure of electricity, and that is enough to power about 330 homes. Its rated capacity is 2.0 MW, a megawatt being the most electricity it can deliver at one moment under ideal sunshine. The plant is owned by Altus Power America Management, LLC, and serves Orange & Rockland customers.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 1,300 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 150,000 gallons of gasoline.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Chester sits in the Hudson Valley, a region known for West Point, Storm King Art Center, and the trails of Bear Mountain and Harriman state parks. Middletown, the county’s commercial hub, is a short drive away.

Local school district

Chester Union Free 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.