Black & Veatch Continues Advancing Solar Power’s March as Global Decarbonization Push Intensifies

Latest Solar Power World rankings reaffirm continued market growth

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Continuing its ascent as part of a diversified energy portfolio in an evolving, rapidly decarbonizing power industry, the U.S. solar market has eclipsed 100 gigawatts of installed electric generating capacity, doubling the solar sector’s size since 2018, a recent report found. And Black & Veatch, a global leader in power infrastructure solutions, continues to play a key role in helping satisfy the demand.

Newly released rankings by Solar Power World – the solar industry’s leading business-to-business publication – recognizes the achievements of U.S. solar developers, subcontractors and installers within the utility, commercial and residential markets. The rankings are based on kilowatts (kWs) installed by contractors in the previous year.

According to the U.S. Solar Market Insight 2020 Year-in-Review report, released in March by the Solar Energy Industries Association and energy research consultant Wood Mackenzie, the U.S. solar market grew by 43 percent in 2020, nearly double the 23-percent increase in 2019. Last year’s installed U.S. electric generating capacity was a record 19.2 gigawatts.

“At a transformational time when the power industry is repowering itself, clean and affordable solar power continues to prove itself to clients as a critical option in lowering their carbon footprints,” said Paul Skurdahl, senior vice president of Black & Veatch's solar business. “With our deep expertise in helping utilities and power producers diversify their generation portfolios through renewable energy, we remain committed to delivering on the promise of solar power for a cleaner, greener world.”

The U.S. solar momentum continues to be driven by declining system costs and accelerating government and corporate mandates for clean energy. The federal government’s passage of a two-year extension on the solar investment tax credit (ITC) at the end of 2020 also is expected to accelerate solar adoption across all market segments.

Wood Mackenzie expects the U.S. solar market to quadruple by 2030, when the equivalent of one in eight American homes is projected to have solar.

“Not even COVID-19 closures and slowdowns could prevent the solar industry from installing fantastic numbers last year,” said Kelly Pickerel, Solar Power World’s editor in chief. “The Solar Power World team is so glad to recognize over 400 companies on the 2021 top solar contractors list that not only survived a pandemic but thrived in spite of it.”

Editor’s Note:

• The recently released 2021 Engineering News-Record (ENR) Sourcebook ranks Black & Veatch’s power business No. 1 for solar power services.
• With 2.3 million kilowatts of solar capacity installed to date and nearly 949,000 kilowatts last year, Black & Veatch ranked ninth overall in Solar Power World’s latest rankings and seventh among solar engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) providers. The company also is the second-ranked solar installer in Florida.
• Black & Veatch has been delivering solar and floating solar photovoltaic (PV) project development and implementation since 1973.
• The company provides siting and permitting, design, independent and owner’s engineering, operations and maintenance (O&M), integration with transmission networks and full engineering, procurement and construction solutions to global clients seeking to deploy solar technologies.

About Black & Veatch

Black & Veatch is an employee-owned global engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of innovation in sustainable infrastructure. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people around the world by addressing the resilience and reliability of our most important infrastructure assets. Our revenues in 2020 exceeded US$3.0 billion. Follow us on www.bv.com and on social media.