New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 290 homes for a year.*

Air quality & health in Orange County

Orange County has a population of 407,470. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 78,693 cases in the county.

No ozone grade is available for the county in the most recent report. For particle pollution — the fine soot and dust that can be breathed deep into the lungs — it received a grade of B.

Federal monitoring recorded 228 days of good air quality and 38 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

Walden NY 1 is one of 567 solar plants in New York’s solar category, ranking #383 of 567 by the electricity it produced in 2024. It sits on State Route 52 in Walden, in Orange County, and began operating in 2020. It uses solar photovoltaic technology, meaning panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity.

Its capacity is 2.0 MW, a megawatt being a measure of the most power a plant can deliver at one moment. Over the year it produced 2.9 gigawatt-hours, a unit for large amounts of electricity, roughly what about 290 homes use. Like all solar plants, it makes power only when the sun is out.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 1,100 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 1,100,000 pounds of coal.*

Nearby places worth exploring

Walden sits in the Hudson Valley, a region known for West Point, Storm King Art Center, and the Bear Mountain and Harriman state parks. Middletown is the county’s commercial hub, and the area is a popular weekend destination for hiking and gallery-hopping.

Local school district

Valley Central School District (Montgomery)

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.