New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 3,300 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 Riverhead Solar Farm in Calverton ranks #9 by electricity produced in 2024. It uses solar photovoltaic technology, which means panels turn sunlight directly into electricity, with no fuel burned. The farm began operating in 2019 and is owned by AES Distributed Energy.

In 2024 it produced 32.9 gigawatt-hours, a gigawatt-hour being a way of measuring a large amount of electricity over time, enough to power about 3,300 homes. Its capacity is 20.0 MW, a megawatt being a measure of the most power it can deliver at one moment. Its output serves customers of PSEG Long Island.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 13,000 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 1,500,000 gallons of gasoline.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Calverton sits in Suffolk County on Long Island, within reach of the North Fork wine country and the wider East End, home to the Hamptons and Montauk Point. The county is also home to Fire Island’s beaches and Stony Brook University.

Local school district

Riverhead 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.