Greenskies builds 2.32-MW solar project in Orange to support CSCU

Hartford Business Journal | Andrew Larson
June 10, 2025

North Haven-based clean energy company has completed its latest 2.32-megawatt ground-mounted solar project in Orange, to support Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU).

Greenskies Clean Focus announced Tuesday that its new solar facility, a decentralized, grid-connected energy system, will help CSCU save about $6 million on its energy costs over 20 years.

Through Connecticut’s Virtual Net Metering program, the Orange solar array offsets the energy consumption of two CSCU campuses in New Haven – Gateway Community College and Southern Connecticut State University – even though the energy is generated at a remote site.

The new solar system in Orange will generate enough renewable energy each year to offset more than 1,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide – the equivalent of more than 156,000 gallons of gasoline burned, 560 tons of waste added to landfills and 26,000 trees planted, according to the announcement, citing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.

Greenskies has completed 14.5 MW of distributed solar projects through its partnership with CSCU.

Greenskies Clean Focus is the predecessor company to Greenskies Renewable Energy, co-founded in Middletown by Michael Silvestrini.

In December 2017, Greenskies Renewable Energy was acquired by Clean Focus Yield Limited, a California-based group of renewable energy companies. After the acquisition, Greenskies continued to operate under its own brand and management.

Silvestrini has since launched a crowdfunded renewable energy startup, Energea.