Greenskies Completes 25 MWs of Solar to Supply CT Utilities Renewable Energy
North American Clean Energy | Staff
May 17, 2023
Greenskies Clean Energy, a national leader in renewable energy solutions, has completed two ground-mounted solar installations totaling 24.82 megawatts (MW) in Connecticut. The arrays in North Haven and Waterford are online and generating electricity to provide Connecticut residents with clean, renewable energy through Eversource and United Illuminating (UI) utilities.
The average Connecticut household consumes approximately 9,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per year. Annually, these solar installations are projected to produce enough clean, renewable energy to power more than 4,800 homes. (Source: US EPA Greenhouse Gas Calculator)
In North Haven, the 6.14 MW array consists of more than 16,500 modules situated on 21 acres of unused land at All Saints Cemetery, owned by the Catholic Cemeteries Association (CCA) of the Archdiocese of Hartford. The Greenskies team worked with the CCA to identify unused land with the best potential for solar generation. The CCA will receive ongoing revenue from hosting the system, helping them maintain cemetery operations.
The 18.68 MW Waterford solar array consists of approximately 44,000 modules situated on 94 acres of underutilized land previously logged under a forestry operation. The owner of the property will now derive value from their underutilized property.
Greenskies designed, constructed, and financed both solar projects and will own, operate, and maintain them. The North Haven project connects to the UI grid, while the Waterford project connects to the Eversource territory. The utilities will jointly purchase the electricity generated via long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).
"Greenskies is pleased to contribute to a zero-carbon future for Connecticut," said Stanley Chin, President and CEO of Greenskies. "DEEP procurements are a critical pathway to make clean energy more accessible and affordable. Large-scale solar energy deployments like this have many benefits, from the environment to public health and providing consumers more stable, reliable energy."
Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) enabled these projects as part of their ongoing clean energy procurement plans. These two projects were part of the highly competitive 2017 Request for Proposals (RFP). DEEP issues these clean energy procurements to:
- secure cost-effective zero-carbon resources that can improve the reliability of the region's electric grid,
- improve energy affordability by reducing dependence on fossil fuel resources that are subject to volatile pricing and delivery constraints, and
- assist the State with its ambitious goals to decarbonize the electricity grid by 2040 and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to at least 80 percent below 2001 levels by 2050.