Dive Brief:
- For the second year in a row, Edmonton, Alberta-based PCL reported significant growth in its solar energy division and broke the $1 billion mark in secured projects for 2023, the contractor announced.
- The company, which operates in the U.S., Canada and Australia, experienced significant growth in that division when it broke the $500 million mark last year and spun off a formal solar subsidiary. The company also plans to grow its team by up to 100 people in the next 12 months, a PCL spokesperson told Construction Dive.
- PCL said the solar industry has grown as a result of challenges posed by climate change and the shift away from fossil fuel energy sources that produce greenhouse gasses. The contractor also nodded to the U.S.’s Inflation Reduction Act and Canada’s similar Clean Energy Investment Tax Credit, which would help consumers and businesses reduce long-term energy costs.
Dive Insight:
PCL’s work in Canada and Australia includes two 400-megawatt solar farms: Homestead in Claresholm, Alberta, and Stubbo Solar in Gulgong, New South Wales, Australia. PCL said that it was one of the limited engineering, procurement and construction contractors that could manage solar projects of that size in Australia.
In a similar vein, PCL claims it is the only solar engineering, procurement and construction contractor in Canada that has completed large-scale projects in the country. All three of its large Canadian projects have been in Alberta.
PCL told Construction Dive that it would be working on a project similar in scale to Stubbo and Homestead in the U.S. next year.
“It’s an exciting time for PCL Solar. This growth reflects the increased demand for renewable energy projects across the world,” said Andrew Moles, general manager of PCL’s Solar Division, in the release.
In the U.S., recent project wins include:
- Peacock, a 150-megawatt photovoltaic power station located in Taft, Texas.
- Azalea Springs, a 180-megawatt photovoltaic solar energy installation in Angelina County, Texas.
- Clearview, a 145-megawatt solar project in Adams Township, Ohio.
- Goose Prairie, a 80-megawatt solar photovoltaic project located in Yakima County, Washington.
Other contractors have also turned their attention to the sky. In April, St. Louis-based McCarthy won a $535 million contract for the Double Black Diamond project, which it expects to deliver next fall. Additionally, solar panel manufacturer Enel picked Inola, Oklahoma, as the site of its first U.S. factory in May. The 2 million-square-foot factory will have its first panels ready for market by the end of 2024.
