New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 500 homes for a year.*

Air quality & health in Niagara County

Niagara County has a population of 209,457. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 44,812 cases in the county.

The county received a grade of B for ozone pollution. No particle pollution grade is available.

Federal monitoring recorded 240 days of good air quality and 21 moderate days in the county over the most recent year, with 1 day 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’s clean-energy category, Niagara Depot Solar ranks #232 by the electricity it produced in 2024. It sits on Lockport Road in Niagara Falls and has been running since 2023. The plant uses solar photovoltaic technology, which means panels turn sunlight directly into electricity with no moving parts.

It produced 5.0 gigawatt-hours in a year, a gigawatt-hour being a very large unit of electricity, and that is enough for about 500 homes. Its capacity is 3.5 MW, a megawatt being the most power the plant can send out at any one moment. National Grid delivers the power it makes.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 1,900 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year compared with producing the same electricity from the national mix of power sources — about the same as the carbon absorbed by about 2,000 acres of forest in a year.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Niagara Falls State Park and the river gorge are close by, and they draw visitors from all over. Farther north, the village of Lewiston and Fort Niagara State Park sit where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario.

Local school district

Niagara-Wheatfield 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.