New York power

Generates renewable electricity from sunlight, supporting New York communities and producing enough electricity for about 160 homes for a year.*

Air quality & health in Westchester County

Westchester County has a population of 990,817. Across five conditions the American Lung Association tracks — childhood asthma, adult asthma, COPD, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — it reports a combined 205,615 cases in the county.

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

Federal monitoring recorded 215 days of good air quality and 53 moderate days in the county over the most recent year, with 5 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

Of the 567 solar plants in New York’s clean-energy category, the White Plains RFP Shapham Place project ranks #498 by how much electricity it produced in 2024. It sits at 17 Shapham Pl in White Plains and began operating in 2022. It pairs solar photovoltaic panels (panels that turn sunlight directly into electricity) with batteries (which store power for later use).

In 2024 it produced 1.6 gigawatt-hours, which is about 160 homes’ worth of electricity. A gigawatt-hour is a way of counting a very large amount of energy over time. Its capacity is 6.2 MW, a megawatt being the most power it could deliver at one moment. Solar produces no combustion at all, so it runs without burning fuel.

Environmental impact

Produces electricity without burning fuel, which avoids roughly 610 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 240 tons of waste out of a landfill.*

Nearby places worth exploring

White Plains sits in Westchester County, close to the Hudson River towns of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow. Yonkers is another nearby urban center. Rockefeller State Park Preserve is a well-known place to walk, and Playland amusement park in Rye is a familiar county destination.

Local school district

White Plains City 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.