Greenskies Named Approved Contractor for 2 NY School Regions

Press Release | Middletown, CT
March 14, 2017

Greenskies Renewable Energy has been designated the approved solar contractor for school districts in northern and central New York State and Long Island, according to the New York Power Authority, or NYPA, which administers the state’s K-Solar program.

The K-Solar program, launched in 2014, has divided each of New York’s 700 school districts into five “bundles,” or regions. As the result of a competitive bidding process, Greenskies was named the approved solar contractor for two of those five regions – Region 2, which includes portions of central and northern New York State, and Region 5, which encompasses Long Island.

According to the NYPA, Regions 2 and 5 include about 95 school districts that have registered to participate in the K-Solar program to date. About 65 of those school districts are on Long Island.

The K-Solar program is administered by the NYPA in collaboration with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the New York State Education Department. It was instituted to provide school systems in the state with the tools, and expertise to bring solar energy to their facilities and reduce their energy costs.

To date, 380 school districts across the state have expressed an interest in participating in the program, according to the NYPA. Non-public K-through-12 schools are also eligible for the program.

The K-Solar program streamlines the New York State Education Department bidding requirements by tasking the NYPA with evaluating the field of potential developers and identifying a group of approved developers with which schools may choose to work.

Under the program, Greenskies will offer solar solutions to interested schools including, in most cases, a Power Purchase Agreement, or PPA. The PPA specifies that Greenskies will design, engineer, construct and maintain solar arrays on the rooftops or grounds of a participating school at no cost to the state or school district. Greenskies will then sell the power produced at the school back to the school district at a fixed and discounted rate, which will vary by region.

“Hundreds of school districts are ready to bring solar into their communities and reduce their energy bills, and we are excited to work with each and every one,” said Gil C. Quiniones, NYPA president and CEO. “Making a commitment to solar energy requires no investment on a district’s part, and by participating in the governor’s innovative K-Solar program, schools are making a strong statement about the importance of renewable resources.”

“We are thrilled to be a part of this innovative and important solar energy program in New York state,” said Will Herchel, Greenskies’ president. “We are proud to have been named the approved solar contractor for school districts in two of the state’s five bundles, and we’re ready to reach out to every school district in our areas to offer our advice, expertise and services.”

Greenskies designs, builds and maintains solar photovoltaic systems for commercial and industrial clients, municipalities and government agencies, educational institutions and utilities throughout the United States.