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Profile
New York power
Converts landfill gas into renewable electricity, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 7,000 homes for a year.*
Air quality & health in Monroe County
Monroe County has a population of 748,482. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 154,303 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 195 days of good air quality and 72 moderate days in the county over the most recent year, with 7 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 17 biofuel plants in New York, High Acres Gas Recovery in Fairport ranks #2 by the electricity it produced in 2024. It runs on landfill gas, the methane that forms naturally as buried waste breaks down, which is collected and burned to spin generators. It produced 70.0 gigawatt-hours (a gigawatt-hour is a billion watts used for an hour, a way of counting large amounts of electricity), which is about 7,000 homes’ worth of power.
The plant began operating in 1991 and has 8 generators with a combined capacity of 9.6 MW (a megawatt is a million watts, the most the plant can produce at one moment). It is owned by WM Renewable Energy LLC, and its power flows into the grid serving the RG&E area.
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
Fairport sits in Monroe County, just outside Rochester, and is known for its village stretch along the Erie Canal. The canal path draws walkers and cyclists, and Lake Ontario’s shoreline is a short drive to the north. The University of Rochester is also nearby in the city.
Local school district
Fairport Central School District
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* 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.
