Greenskies Renewable Energy, a Connecticut-based solar energy company launched in a Westbrook basement eight years ago, has become the nation’s No. 1 solar energy company in the commercial and industrial market sector, according to Greentech Media, or GTM, the solar industry’s leading research firm and data tracker.Greenskies had a 5.5 percent share of the commercial/industrial solar market at the close of the first quarter of 2016, giving the company the highest market share in the nation, according to the most recent GTM market study. The rankings are based on total megawatts of solar energy installed during the period.
The solar company with the next highest market share in the commercial segment was more than half of a percentage point behind Greenskies.The No. 1 ranking reflects the company’s steady and persistent climb to the summit of GTM’s quarterly ranking list. Greenskies ranked seventh on GTM’s survey of solar companies in the commercial sector at the close of the first quarter of 2015; climbed to the fifth spot by the end of the third quarter of last year; soared to third by the final quarter of 2015; and reached the No. 1 spot after a record-shattering first quarter this year.
The company is poised to develop nearly 100 megawatts of new commercial and industrial solar in 2016, said Michael Silvestrini, Greenskies president, CEO and co-founder.”Congratulations everyone, we should all be very proud of this,” Silvestrini said in addressing his employees Thursday. “This ranking is not only a remarkable achievement for our company, but a signal to the marketplace that Greenskies is hell-bent on being the nation’s best developer of solar projects in the commercial and industrial sector. It affirms that Greenskies is the very best at what we do.”These results,” he concluded, “illustrate and confirm that ground-zero for this industry – in terms of talent, commitment and a track record of national success – is located right here, in Middletown, Conn.”
In determining how many megawatts of solar power each company installed during any given time period, GTM utilizes a complex set of inputs, including data from rebate programs, utilities, installers, developers, equipment suppliers, GTM research and Solar Market Insight reports compiled by the Solar Energy Industries Association, or SEIA, the U.S. trade association for solar energy and related businesses.Greenskies is an eight-year-old company that originates, finances, designs, builds and maintains solar photovoltaic systems for commercial and industrial clients, municipalities and government agencies, educational institutions and utilities throughout the United States. Its solar arrays have now produced a combined total of more than 110 million kilowatt hours of clean electric power.
