Connecticut Solar Firm Ranked In Top Ten Nationally

by Gregory B. Hladky, Hartford Courant 

A Connecticut company, Greenskies Renewable Energy, has been named as one of the top ten solar power developers in the U.S. by Solar Power World, a publication and website focused on the energy industry.

Greenskies, headquartered in Middletown, came in at ninth place among solar developers nationally, and was the highest ranking New England solar developer on the magazine's list. Overall, Greenskies was ranked by Solar Power World at 48th for U.S. solar companies in 2015. The rankings are based on the number of installed megawatts of solar power in the prior year.

In 2014, Greenskies' projects resulted in the installation of 22.6 megawatts of solar power. Since its founding, the Middletown company has developed a total of 41.8 megawatts of solar installations, according to the magazine's statistics.

The company was founded in 2008 by Mike Silvestrini and Art Linares, a Westbrook resident who is a Republican state senator representing the 33rd District. The company "has been expanding exponentially over the last couple of months," said Marc Silvestrini, Mike's father, and now employees 70 people.

Greenskies is a company that designs, builds and maintains solar systems for corporations, municipalities and other government agencies, as well as educational institutions. The firm has completed projects all over the U.S.

According to Solar Power World, the top solar developer in the U.S. is also the largest: First Solar Inc. of Tempe, Arizona, drew the highest ranked spot with more than one million megawatts of solar power installed in 2014. The company employs more than 6,000 people.