Greenskies Renewable Energy LLC, a Middletown-based solar energy company, has been selected to construct a 750 kW-AC solar PV array on the campus of Wesleyan University. The ground-mounted solar array will be built at the corner of Long Lane and Wadsworth Road on the Wesleyan campus, where it will produce 1.2 million kWh of clean renewable electricity per year.
“We are proud to be partnering with Wesleyan on this initiative,” said James Desantos, Greenskies’ vice president of Business Development. “As a leader in sustainability since the 1980s, Wesleyan’s vision and efforts to create a sustainable campus are unparalleled and we are excited to be a partner in this endeavor.”
Greenskies was awarded the project based on the results of a competitive bidding process. The new solar PV array will work in collaboration with two existing natural gas co-generation facilities on the Wesleyan campus and will supply power directly to the university’s existing micro-grid. The plan also calls for several campus buildings that are not currently part of the micro-grid system to be tied into the network.
“We are excited to partner with Greenskies on this project, which will take us closer toward our goal of a carbon neutral campus,” said John Meerts, Wesleyan’s vice president for Finance and Administration. “The new solar array will help us reduce costs while increasing our energy self-reliance, together with our two natural gas co-generation facilities.”
Wesleyan and Greenskies will enter into a power-purchase agreement, where Greenskies will design, develop, finance, own and maintain the solar installation for the next 20 years at no cost to the university while Wesleyan agrees to purchase 100 percent of the electricity produced at the site at a significantly discounted rate.
Greenskies will start construction in the spring of 2016 and is anticipating that the project will be completed by Sept. 1, 2016.
Greenskies is a 7-year-old company that designs, builds and maintains solar photovoltaic systems for corporate clients, municipalities and government agencies, educational institutions and utilities throughout the United States. Solar installations designed and built by Greenskies have now produced about 40 million kilowatt hours of clean electric power.
— Solar Builder magazine
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