New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 3,900 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

Out of 567 solar plants in New York, the Long Island Solar Farm in Upton ranks sixth for the electricity it produced in 2024. It began operating in 2011 and uses solar photovoltaic technology, which means panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity, with no fuel burned.

In 2024 it generated 39.4 gigawatt-hours, a unit of energy equal to a million kilowatt-hours, which is about 3,900 homes’ worth of electricity for a year. Its capacity is 31.5 MW, or megawatts, a measure of the most power it can deliver at one moment, and it sends that power into the PSEG Long Island grid.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 15,000 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 1,800,000 gallons of gasoline.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Upton sits in Suffolk County, a short drive from Long Island’s East End, home to the Hamptons, Montauk Point, and the North Fork wine country. Fire Island’s beaches and Stony Brook University are also in the county.

Local school district

Eastport-South Manor 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.