New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 470 homes for a year.*

Air quality & health in Washington County

Washington County has a population of 60,047. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 13,152 cases in the county.

No ozone or particle pollution grades are available for this county in the most recent report. The figures above describe how many residents live with conditions sensitive to air quality — not measured pollution levels.

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

Greenwich Solar 1 is one of 567 solar plants in New York in this category, and it ranks #242 of 567 by how much electricity it produced in 2024. It sits at 2131 NY Highway 40 in Greenwich, Washington County, and uses solar photovoltaic technology, which means panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity.

The plant has been running since 2020 and is rated at 5.0 MW, a measure of the most power it can send out at one moment. In 2024 it produced 4.7 gigawatt-hours of electricity, a gigawatt-hour being a very large amount of energy, roughly what about 470 homes use in a year. It is owned by AES Distributed Energy and connects to National Grid’s local system.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 1,800 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 1,900,000 pounds of coal.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Greenwich sits in rolling farm country close to the Vermont border. The Batten Kill river, a favorite for fishing and paddling, runs through the area, and the eastern shore of Lake George is a short drive away for anyone wanting a day by the water.

Local school district

Greenwich 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.