Solar installations in Essex County, NY
462 recorded installations in Essex County, New York — capacity, prices and the installers doing the work.
At a glance
Essex County, New York has 462 recorded solar installations totalling 140.9 MW of capacity — the 43rd-highest count among the 62 New York counties with records, and under 1% of the state total. That is about 1.8% of the county's 25,318 housing units, against 2.6% statewide. The median installed price is $3.45/W before incentives, about 17% below the New York median of $4.15/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 3.2 hail and 2.8 high-wind NOAA storm events — a regional inspection/maintenance signal (proximity, not confirmed damage).
Search every recorded installation in Essex County by installer, size, date and equipment.
Search sites →Independent check:Stanford's DeepSolar detected about 327 solar arrays here from 2018 satellite imagery — our recorded data covers roughly 141% of that. A yardstick, not dated records.
Most active
Top installers in Essex County
| # | Installer | Installs here |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apex Energy Tek | 147 |
| 2 | New Leaf Solar | 34 |
| 3 | Crest Solar | 32 |
| 4 | Plugpv | 29 |
| 5 | Triangle Electrical Systems | 28 |
| 6 | Solar Liberty Energy Systems | 27 |
| 7 | Adk Solar | 19 |
| 8 | Albany Solar Solutions | 16 |
| 9 | Kasselman Solar | 10 |
| 10 | Edf Renewable Energy | 9 |
Growth
Installations by year
How does Essex County compare with the rest of New York?
The median recorded system in Essex County is 8.9 kW, about 16% above the state median of 7.65 kW. 3% of installations here are third-party owned (lease or power-purchase agreement), compared with 34% across New York. 21 systems (5%) of the county's records include battery storage, against 2% statewide. By share of housing units with a recorded system, Essex County ranks 31st of 62 New York counties with at least 10 installations.
How has solar adoption changed in Essex County?
The earliest recorded installation in Essex County dates to 2004. The busiest year on record is 2017, with 50 installations. 2025 has 39 recorded installations so far. The county's cumulative total rose from 281 at the end of 2020 to 462 today. Recent years fill in as state programs and permit offices report, so the latest counts are provisional.
Who installs solar in Essex County?
Apex Energy Tek has the most recorded installations in Essex County (147, 32% of the county's records). Other active installers here include New Leaf Solar, Crest Solar and Plugpv. Installers based anywhere in New York are listed in the state installer directory.
Frequently asked questions
How many homes have solar in Essex County?
PanelCensus records 462 solar installations in Essex County, New York (140.9 MW of capacity) — about 1.8% of the county's 25,318 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 Essex County?
The median installed price for recorded systems in Essex County is $3.45/W before incentives; the median system is 8.9 kW. The New York median is $4.15/W.
Who installs solar in Essex County?
The most active recorded installers in Essex County are Apex Energy Tek (147), New Leaf Solar (34) and Crest Solar (32).
How much of the solar in Essex County is leased?
14 recorded installations (3%) in Essex 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 Essex County?
The median recorded system in Essex County is 8.9 kW, against 7.7 kW for New York as a whole.
More solar data near Essex County
- Solar in New York· 223,104 installations
- Solar installers in New York
- Solar in Otsego County· 528 installations
- Solar in Cayuga County· 513 installations
- Solar in Livingston County· 469 installations
- Solar in Tioga County· 454 installations
- Solar in Genesee County· 402 installations
- Solar in Clinton County· 398 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 10, 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 Essex County, New York”, https://panelcensus.com/solar/new-york/essex-county (data as of October 10, 2026).