McCarthy Building Companies’ work in Phoenix is helping to spread some sunshine around the state of Arizona with a project that will generate over $100 million in benefits for the state’s schools and communities through long-term leases and tax remittances.
Sun Streams 4 (SS4) includes a 377 MWdc/300 MWac solar facility with 300 MWac/1,200 MWhr of battery storage being constructed for Longroad Energy Holdings LLC, a U.S.-based renewable energy developer, owner, and operator. This project represents the largest solar facility, and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), to date in the owner’s portfolio.
McCarthy has experience constructing BESS facilities of this size and larger around the U.S. and has been able to guide the teams through the design and construction process.
The SS4 project is currently under construction and expected to be fully commissioned in mid-2025. Management attributes this success to efficiencies and innovations that were developed and brought to the project by McCarthy’s Renewable Energy team by focusing on quality, safety, planning (including logistics and workforce sequencing), and workforce training.
This is the third project built by St. Louis, Missouri-based McCarthy, the oldest privately held national construction company in the country, within Longroad’s Sun Streams Complex. McCarthy’s project team is on track for reporting and achieving the correct apprentice craft work hour participation requirements to comply with Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship requirements from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
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According to Chris Fletcher, Vice President of Operations for McCarthy’s Renewable Energy & Storage team, the challenges met by the project teams began early on the SS4 project by addressing long lead material and supply shortages that the industry is continuing to face.
“Our teams strategized with the owner on advance ordering and job sequencing, which were instrumental in overcoming any potential delays,” he said. Focused design progression sessions and approvals of critical materials — foundations, racking, electrical cabling, and gear — allowed the team to secure fabrication and delivery windows with the supply partners to align with the phased construction schedule.
As is the case on many solar projects around the country, the project experienced a lengthy PV Plant Permitting process. “Due to these permitting timelines, our team and our trade partners were able to be flexible and adjust the scopes and job sequencing as needed,” Fletcher said. “By schedule re-sequencing and pull planning sessions on all scopes, we collaborated to evaluate options and mitigate the permitting impact. Ultimately, we kept the critical path activities on track and are now ahead of schedule because of the solutions and effective coordination.”
Building projects in the Arizona heat can create challenges, particularly during the summer months. To overcome this challenge, McCarthy adjusted the daily start time to be as early as possible while respecting the restrictions of the permit to avoid any disruptions to the neighboring community.
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“Heat safety is a big focus on all projects, and McCarthy’s protocol provides for multiple cooling and water stations for workers throughout our project sites,” Fletcher said. “We also provide personal cooling towels and educate crews on heat safety, whereby the crews watch out for one another for signs of heat-related illness and take action when needed.”
“The solar workforce is playing an important role in Arizona’s transition to sustainable renewable energy by building large-scale solar and battery storage projects like Sun Streams 4, which will help power homes across Arizona and meet the peak demand needs of our hot summer months,” said Dan Brown, with McCarthy’s Renewable Energy team. “Being our fifth project with Longroad, McCarthy is proud to continue to be cultivating and developing Arizona’s skilled solar workforce through our training and apprenticeship programs.”
McCarthy’s Solar Apprenticeship Program, which is recognized by the Department of Labor and complies with IRA requirements, includes three occupations: laborers, electricians, and operators. With each, the focus is on the long-term development of craft personnel through related instruction and On the Job Learning (OJL).
Related instruction involves formal classroom training focused on executing the work to be completed by each role, as well as improving safety, quality, and the technical skills of the employees participating in the apprenticeship program.
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The laborer and operator apprentice programs run two years and include 288 hours of classroom training. The electrical occupation is a four-year program with 576 hours of classroom training. McCarthy’s electrical apprenticeship classroom training is virtual via Independent Electrical Contractors Rocky Mountain.
For the OJL, apprentices are paired with journey workers in the corresponding occupation. Participants also receive mentorship and training during the hours worked on the project. The OJL hours worked and skills training are tracked for each apprentice on the company’s internal software systems to ensure the apprentices graduate the programs with the skills necessary to become a successful journey worker in their occupation.
McCarthy’s electrical journeyman training program offers compensation for learning and a path to becoming a licensed electrical journeyman with 8,000 OJT (On the Job Training) hours. Upon completion, the apprentice receives a national certification recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Apprentices are recruited via McCarthy’s extensive recruiting process, through which teams partner with organizations around the country to engage veterans, those in the skilled trades looking to further their career, and by outreach in the communities in which they work. The recruiting team pulls together interested candidates based upon predetermined attributes outlined by the Department of Labor and guides them through the apprenticeship enrollment process.
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McCarthy’s apprenticeship programs, which have been in place since 2017, are having the most significant impact by increasing project safety, quality, and productivity on solar projects around the U.S., including SS4.
When a developer selects an area to focus on building large solar complexes, as Longroad Energy did, developing the trades and construction workforce provides more success because workers are easily able to transition from one project to the next and maintain consistent work. In addition to this strategy of developing a broader group of well-trained workers, it also provides long-term career opportunities for the workers.
McCarthy was able to mitigate challenges brought about by having less-experienced people on the job site by ensuring that experienced workers are working with those who have less experience and require mentoring.
“Several factors play a role here,” Fletcher said. First, McCarthy’s solar training program is designed to accommodate and train individuals of all skill levels, including entry level. “With our crews moving from one project to the next, we have an adequate number of experienced workers who help train newer workers.”
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In addition, management organizes its scopes so that experienced craft members are on all scopes to provide mentorship and training to those who are new or newer to the industry. These strategies eliminate inexperienced craft workforce members from performing work by themselves or without guidance.
For the electrical trades more specifically, SS4 achieved an equal balance of licensed electrical journey workers throughout the electrical scopes, which mitigated risk of hazards typically caused by inexperienced electrical apprentices.
The project has been met with accolades.
“We are pleased with the progress on Sun Streams 4, Longroad’s largest solar project to date and one of our first projects to incorporate provisions from the groundbreaking Inflation Reduction Act,” said Paul Gaynor, CEO of Longroad Energy. “McCarthy shares Longroad’s commitment to excellence, and we commend them on their quality and safety record that has distinguished their work on the Sun Streams complex. Longroad is proud of the solar workforce we are helping to build and support in Arizona through our partnership with McCarthy, and we are excited about the many positive benefits that Sun Streams 4 will deliver.”
