McCarthy Starts Construction on Leeward’s Rabbitbrush Solar Project

McCarthy Building Companies Inc. has been selected by Leeward Renewable Energy to be the EPC contractor (engineering. procurement and construction). This contract will allow Leeward Renewable Energy to build its Rabbitbrush Solar project. It is a 100MW facility with a 20 MW, 50MWh energy storage system. The project will include more than 415,000 First Solar thin film photovoltaic modules.

McCarthy began work at the site with the support of McCalmont Engineer, EVS Inc. and California Compaction Corp. partners Powin, Terabase Energy and vendors from Sungrow, First Solar and NexTracker. The project’s completion is slated for July 2022.

“McCarthy is proud to be assisting Leeward Renewable Energy’s solar market expansion in Southern California and diversifying the state’s critical energy infrastructure, while providing hundreds of jobs within Kern County,” says David Smith, McCarthy Renewable Energy & Storage’s project director. “Driven by recent legislation, California is at the forefront of developing a clean energy future, and McCarthy is honored to help the state lead the effort here and across America.”

“Leeward is pleased to partner with McCarthy, which shares Leeward’s commitment to safety and quality construction, in the development of the Rabbitbrush solar project,” states Mark Hensley, senior vice president of project execution and procurement at Leeward. “We look forward to working closely with them to bring economic benefits to Kern County through our joint commitment to creating local job opportunities, as well as economic investment in the local economy.”