155th largest plant in New York · 4596th nationally
Riverhead Solar Farm is a solar power plant in New York with a nameplate capacity of 20.0 MW. It generates roughly 30.4k MWh per year — enough to power about 2,896 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 17% reflects intermittent or peaking operation.
| Plant Name | Riverhead Solar Farm |
|---|---|
| Operator | Aes Distributed Energy |
| City | Calverton |
| County | Suffolk County |
| State | New York |
| ZIP | 11933 |
| Coordinates | 40.92299, -72.76450 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RIV1 | Solar Photovoltaic | Solar | 20.0 MW | Operating | 2019 |
| NERC Region | NPCC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | New York Independent System Operator |
Utility-scale solar farms convert sunlight directly into electricity using photovoltaic panels. They produce zero direct emissions and have no fuel cost, but generation is variable — peaking at midday and falling to zero at night. Capacity factors typically run 18–28% in good locations.