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Profile
New York power
Produced 74.3 gigawatt-hours of electricity in 2024 — enough electricity for about 7,400 homes for a year.*
Air quality & health in New York County
New York County has a population of 1,597,451. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 330,374 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 B.
Federal monitoring recorded 210 days of good air quality and 100 moderate days in the county over the most recent year, with 6 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 power plant
New York has 100 natural gas plants in this category, and the New York University Central Plant ranks #42 of 100 by 2024 electricity produced. It sits at 251 Mercer Street and has operated since 1984.
It’s a natural gas fired combined cycle plant, meaning it makes electricity once from burning fuel, then captures leftover heat to make more. Its capacity is 11.0 MW, a megawatt being a measure of how much power it can supply at one moment. It generated 74.3 gigawatt-hours, a gigawatt-hour being a large unit of electricity, equal to about 7,400 homes. Natural gas supplies most of its fuel, with a small share from distillate fuel oil, a light petroleum fuel.
Generation profile
The plant can produce 11 megawatts of electricity at once, across 2 generating units. In 2024 it produced 74.3 gigawatt-hours in total, which works out to about 77% of what it could have produced running flat out all year — the pattern of a plant that runs through much of the year.
Nearby places worth exploring
The plant is in Manhattan, where Central Park, Times Square, and museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and MoMA are all within easy reach. Hudson River Park runs along the west side of the island, offering a waterfront stretch for walking and cycling.
Local school district
New York City Department Of Education
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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.
