Solar installations in Erie County, NY
4,504 recorded installations in Erie County, New York — capacity, prices and the installers doing the work.
At a glance
Erie County, New York has 4,504 recorded solar installations totalling 657.0 MW of capacity — the 13th-highest count among the 62 New York counties with records, and 2% of the state total. That is about 1.0% of the county's 439,987 housing units, against 2.6% statewide. The median installed price is $3.45/W before incentives, about 17% below the New York median of $4.16/W.
Dataset updated . Sources: LBNL Tracking the Sun + city permit records + state programs + USGS/EIA utility-scale.
Severe-weather exposure: solar sites here have been matched to an average of 4.1 hail (0.6 severe) and 2.2 high-wind NOAA storm events — a regional inspection/maintenance signal (proximity, not confirmed damage).
Search every recorded installation in Erie County by installer, size, date and equipment.
Search sites →Independent check:Stanford's DeepSolar detected about 4,038 solar arrays here from 2018 satellite imagery — our recorded data covers roughly 112% of that. A yardstick, not dated records.
Most active
Top installers in Erie County
| # | Installer | Installs here |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Solar Liberty Energy Systems | 1,272 |
| 2 | Cir Electrical Construction | 808 |
| 3 | Solcius | 615 |
| 4 | Buffalo Solar | 236 |
| 5 | Nrg Residential Solar Solutions | 118 |
| 6 | Freedom Solar Power Tx | 106 |
| 7 | Direct Energy Solar | 86 |
| 8 | Nys Essential Power | 79 |
| 9 | Montante Solar | 78 |
| 10 | Sigora Solar | 62 |
Growth
Installations by year
How does Erie County compare with the rest of New York?
The median recorded system in Erie County is 8.25 kW, roughly in line with the state median of 7.65 kW. 7% of installations here are third-party owned (lease or power-purchase agreement), compared with 34% across New York. 46 systems (1%) of the county's records include battery storage, against 2% statewide. By share of housing units with a recorded system, Erie County ranks 51st of 62 New York counties with at least 10 installations.
How has solar adoption changed in Erie County?
The earliest recorded installation in Erie County dates to 2004. The busiest year on record is 2018, with 630 installations. 2025 has 378 recorded installations so far. The county's cumulative total rose from 3,156 at the end of 2020 to 4,504 today. Recent years fill in as state programs and permit offices report, so the latest counts are provisional.
Who installs solar in Erie County?
Solar Liberty Energy Systems has the most recorded installations in Erie County (1,272, 28% of the county's records). Other active installers here include Cir Electrical Construction, Solcius and Buffalo Solar. Installers based anywhere in New York are listed in the state installer directory.
Frequently asked questions
How many homes have solar in Erie County?
PanelCensus records 4,504 solar installations in Erie County, New York (657.0 MW of capacity) — about 1.0% of the county's 439,987 housing units (U.S. Census ACS). Coverage depends on New York's public reporting, so the true total is likely higher.
How much does solar cost in Erie County?
The median installed price for recorded systems in Erie County is $3.45/W before incentives; the median system is 8.3 kW. The New York median is $4.16/W.
Who installs solar in Erie County?
The most active recorded installers in Erie County are Solar Liberty Energy Systems (1,272), Cir Electrical Construction (808) and Solcius (615).
How much of the solar in Erie County is leased?
306 recorded installations (7%) in Erie County are third-party owned — a lease or power-purchase agreement, compared with 34% across New York.
How big is a typical solar system in Erie County?
The median recorded system in Erie County is 8.3 kW, against 7.7 kW for New York as a whole.
More solar data near Erie County
- Solar in New York· 222,542 installations
- Solar installers in New York
- Solar in Ulster County· 6,622 installations
- Solar in Rockland County· 5,925 installations
- Solar in Albany County· 4,909 installations
- Solar in Saratoga County· 3,570 installations
- Solar in Rensselaer County· 2,981 installations
- Solar in Monroe County· 2,828 installations
County assignment is derived from installation ZIP codes via the Census 2020 ZCTA↔county crosswalk (primary county by land-area overlap) — approximate at county boundaries. Market penetration = recorded installations ÷ housing units (U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year, Table B25001); it undercounts where dataset coverage is partial. See methodology.
About this data
Source: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Tracking the Sun, merged with city permit records, state incentive programs and the USGS U.S. Large-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Database / EIA-860 plant registers, as published October 19, 2026 — PanelCensus refreshes it as each source publishes new records. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: PanelCensus, “Solar installations in Erie County, New York”, https://panelcensus.com/solar/new-york/erie-county (data as of October 19, 2026).