New York power

Converts landfill gas into renewable electricity, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 4,100 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

Of New York’s 17 biofuel plants, the Colonie LFGTE Facility in Cohoes ranks seventh by the electricity it produced in 2024. It runs on landfill gas, which is the methane that forms naturally as buried trash breaks down, captured and burned to turn generators instead of drifting off unused.

The plant began operating in 2006 and uses 4 generators with a combined capacity of 6.4 MW. A megawatt (MW) is a measure of how much power a plant can deliver at once. In 2024 it produced 40.9 gigawatt-hours, which is a way of counting total electricity over a year, and that is enough for about 4,100 homes. Landfill gas is considered a renewable fuel because the trash keeps producing it.

Environmental profile

Captures methane released by decomposing landfill waste and burns it to make electricity. Methane traps more heat in the atmosphere than the carbon dioxide produced by burning it, so the gas is collected rather than left to escape.

Nearby places worth exploring

Cohoes sits in the Capital Region, just north of 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 in the Helderberg hills offers a scenic outing a short drive away.

Local school district

North Colonie 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.