New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 130 homes for a year.*

Air quality & health in Wayne County

Wayne County has a population of 90,829. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 19,472 cases in the county.

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

Federal monitoring recorded 251 days of good air quality and 13 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

New York has 567 solar plants in this category, and the Town of Williamson Landfill PV, at 6742 Pound Road in Wayne County, ranks #512 of 567 by 2024 electricity produced. It’s a solar photovoltaic array, meaning panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity, and it has operated since 2014 under owner MN8 Energy LLC.

With a capacity of 1.2 MW (the most power it can deliver at one moment), it produced 1.3 gigawatt-hours in 2024, a gigawatt-hour being a large unit of energy, which is about 130 homes’ worth of electricity. It serves the RG&E area, and its output is carbon-free.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 510 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 530,000 pounds of coal.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Williamson sits near the Lake Ontario shoreline, and Chimney Bluffs State Park is a well-known stop along that stretch. Erie Canal villages such as Palmyra and Lyons are a short drive away, set amid apple orchard country.

Local school district

Williamson 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.