Connecticut completes 1.4 MW solar project at state Veterans Affairs campus

Photo: Greenskies Clean Energy

pv magazine USA | Ryan Kennedy
November 11, 2026

State officials and clean energy partners gathered in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, to mark the completion of two solar installations totaling 1.404 MW DC across the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) main campus and skilled nursing facility.

The installations were developed under the Connecticut Green Bank’s Solar Marketplace Assistance Program Plus (Solar MAP+), an initiative designed to accelerate solar adoption across state agencies, municipalities, affordable housing, and school districts.

The two systems are projected to generate approximately 1.84 million kWh of electricity annually, offsetting 85% of the annual grid draw for the skilled nursing facility and 35% of the electricity load at the main campus building. Over their 20-year operational lifecycle, the projects are estimated to generate $2.2 million in direct energy cost savings—averaging around $100,000 per year.

DVA Main Campus (Rocky Hill): 604.8 kW DC capacity; expected annual generation of 784,914 kWh; projected 20-year energy savings of $665,373.

DVA Skilled Nursing Facility (Rocky Hill): 799.2 kW DC capacity; expected annual generation of 1.059 million kWh; projected 20-year energy savings of $1.538 million.

Greenskies Clean Energy served as the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor for both arrays. Long-term project ownership, operation, and maintenance (O&M) will be managed by Kearsarge Energy L.P., which partnered with the Connecticut Green Bank on this build and nine other state portfolio projects.

“This remarkable solar field will power most of our Veteran Healthcare Center and part of our Residential Program, generating estimated savings of $100,000 per year and $2.2 million over the next 20 years,” said Ron Welch, Brigadier General, U.S. Army (Ret.) and Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Affairs. “This important project will modernize our campus through clean energy production while saving Connecticut taxpayers millions of dollars in the decades to come.”

The installations support Connecticut’s broader GreenerGov CT initiative, a program co-chaired by the Department of Administrative Services (DAS), Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), and the Office of Policy & Management (OPM) aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions across state operations.

“Projects like this show what’s possible when public and private partners, along with strong and stable incentive programs, work together: long-term clean energy and savings for the buildings people rely on every day,” added Dan O’Brien, Chief Commercial Officer at Greenskies Clean Energy.