New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 240 homes for a year.*

Air quality & health in Tompkins County

Tompkins County has a population of 103,558. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 20,492 cases in the county.

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

Federal monitoring recorded 218 days of good air quality and 20 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

New York has 567 solar plants in this category, and the one at Tompkins Cortland Community College in Dryden ranks #430 of 567 by 2024 electricity produced. It began operating in 2015 and uses solar photovoltaic technology, which means panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity, with no fuel burned. SEC LHNY Solar One, LLC owns it, and its power goes to the grid served by National Grid.

In 2024 the plant produced 2.4 gigawatt-hours, a gigawatt-hour being a large measure of electricity over time, which is about 240 homes’ worth of yearly use. Its capacity, the most it can produce at one moment, is 2.0 MW, or megawatts, a measure of instantaneous power. Over the year it ran at 14 percent of that maximum, which is typical when the sun isn’t always shining.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 940 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year compared with producing the same electricity from the national mix of power sources — about the same as keeping about 370 tons of waste out of a landfill.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Dryden sits in the Finger Lakes region, a short drive from Ithaca, home to Cornell University and Ithaca College at the southern end of Cayuga Lake. Nearby, Taughannock Falls and Buttermilk Falls state parks are known for their dramatic gorges and make popular stops for hikers and visitors.

Local school district

Dryden 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.