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Profile
New York power
Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 780 homes for a year.*
Air quality & health in Cattaraugus County
Cattaraugus County has a population of 75,600. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 16,007 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
West Valley East is one of 567 solar plants in New York, and it ranks #101 of 567 by the electricity it produced in 2024. It sits in West Valley, in Cattaraugus County, and has been operating since 2022. BQ Energy LLC owns it, and its power flows onto the grid run by National Grid.
The plant uses solar photovoltaic technology, which means panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity with no fuel burned. It has a capacity of 5.0 MW, a megawatt being a measure of the most power it can deliver at one moment; that is the size of the plant, not its yearly output. Over the year it produced 7.8 gigawatt-hours, a gigawatt-hour being a large block of electricity, and that is about 780 homes’ worth of use.
Environmental impact
Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 3,000 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 using about 7,400 barrels of oil.*
Nearby places worth exploring
West Valley sits in the hills of Cattaraugus County, close to Allegany State Park, a large forested park popular for hiking and camping. The ski village of Ellicottville, home to Holiday Valley resort, is also nearby. Farther along, St. Bonaventure University sits near Olean.
Local school district
West Valley Central School District
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* 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.
