Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) added a 2.32-megawatt (MW) ground-mount project in Orange, Connecticut.

The project was conducted by Greenskies Clean Focus, a national renewable energy solutions company. 

This distributed energy resource (DER) solar facility will help CSCU realize an estimated $6 million dollars in energy savings over 20 years of operation. A DER is a decentralized, grid-connected energy system — such as solar panels, wind turbines, or energy storage — that generates or stores electricity near where it is used, improving energy efficiency and resilience.

The Orange solar array leverages Connecticut’s Virtual Net Metering (VNM) program, which allows the energy generated at a remote site to offset its energy consumption at other locations.

In conjunction with Greenskies, the CSCU VNM contract enables this solar array in Orange to serve as a DER facility for two CSCU campuses in New Haven, Connecticut. The campuses benefiting from this system are the nearby Gateway Community College and Southern Connecticut State University, which helps both institutions reduce their reliance on grid-supplied electricity and lower their energy costs.

“CSCU is excited to continue its partnership with Greenskies and identify ways to further offset electric utility costs at two of its campuses,” said CSCU Chancellor Terrence Cheng in a statement. “CSCU is committed to finding ways of utilizing clean, sustainable energy and reducing operating costs across our system through public-private partnerships like this.”

In addition to the financial benefits, this system will generate over 3 million kilowatt hours of clean, renewable energy each year, offsetting more than 1,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually.