New York power

Generates renewable electricity from the Oswego River, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 2,300 homes for a year.*

Air quality & health in Oswego County

Oswego County has a population of 118,162. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 24,364 cases in the county.

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

Federal monitoring recorded 256 days of good air quality and 8 moderate days in the county over the most recent year, with 0 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

Oswego Falls East is one of 142 hydropower plants in New York, and it ranks #60 of 142 by the electricity it produced in 2024. It sits in Fulton, on the Oswego River, and has been operating since 1914.

It’s a conventional hydroelectric plant, meaning it uses river water flowing past its equipment to spin generators, with no fuel burned. Three generators together have a capacity of 6.0 MW (megawatts, a measure of the most power it can deliver at one moment). In 2024 it produced 23.1 gigawatt-hours, which is a large unit of energy equal to about 2,300 homes’ yearly electricity use.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 8,900 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year compared with producing the same electricity from the national mix of power sources — about the same as not burning about 9,200,000 pounds of coal.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Fulton is close to Oswego, home to SUNY Oswego, on the shore of Lake Ontario, where Fort Ontario overlooks the harbor. Selkirk Shores State Park and the Salmon River are nearby too, and they draw anglers and campers.

Local school district

Fulton City 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.