New York power

Generates renewable electricity from the Raquette River, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 1,300 homes for a year.*

Air quality & health in St. Lawrence County

St. Lawrence County has a population of 106,940. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 22,121 cases in the county.

No ozone or particle pollution grades are available for this county in the most recent report. The figures above describe how many residents live with conditions sensitive to air quality — not measured pollution levels.

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

Raymondville is one of 142 hydropower plants in New York, and it ranks #79 of 142 by the electricity it produced in 2024. It sits on the Raquette River in Norfolk and has been running since 1928. Hydropower means the plant uses flowing water to spin a generator, much like a water wheel connected to a dynamo.

The plant has one generator rated at 2.0 MW, a megawatt being a measure of how much power it can deliver at any one moment. Over the year it produced 13.5 gigawatt-hours, a unit of electricity over time, which is about 1,300 homes’ worth of use. Erie Boulevard Hydropower LP owns it.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 5,200 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 5,400,000 pounds of coal.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Norfolk sits in St. Lawrence County, in the northern part of New York where the St. Lawrence River and the Adirondack foothills frame the landscape. The college towns of Canton, home to St. Lawrence University and SUNY Canton, and Potsdam, home to Clarkson University and SUNY Potsdam, are close by.

Local school district

Norwood-Norfolk 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.