National construction company completes massive solar project in West Valley
McCarthy Building Cos.’ Renewable Energy and Storage Group recently completed a 200-megawatt solar project in the West Valley.
The project, called Sun Streams 2, is situated on more than 1,000 acres in Arlington, a small area just southwest of Buckeye and about 40 miles west of Phoenix.
It has more than 450,000 First Solar Series 6 modules and includes a substation expansion. The solar project employed more than 250 local construction workers. Recruitment was primarily conducted in Goodyear and Buckeye.
Sun Streams 2 is owned by Boston-based renewable energy developer, owner and operator, Longroad Energy, which purchased the project from Tempe-based First Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) earlier this year.
“We are extremely pleased with the completion and commercial operation of Sun Streams 2,” said Michael Alvarez, COO of Longroad Energy, in a statement. “We look forward to working on many more projects with them in Arizona and across the U.S.”
McCarthy’s Renewable Energy and Storage Group served as engineer, procure and construct contractor for the project. McCarthy’s self-perform field forces installed all modules, 5,805 NEXTracker trackers, 53 SMA MWPS-4000 inverter skids, all direct current wiring and combiner boxes and all underground 34.5 kilovolt alternating current collection wiring.
“Building solar plants in sunny Arizona has always made sense,” said Scott Canada, senior vice president of the Renewable Energy and Storage Group at McCarthy, in a statement.
“Longroad was a great partner to have on the final construction and commissioning of this solar project, in part because we share a commitment to bringing solar power and its economic benefits to communities across the nation.”
Other Maricopa County projects
Sun Streams 2 is one of four Maricopa County projects that Longroad acquired from First Solar in February, according to McCarthy.
Sun Streams 3, 4 and 5 are estimated to be completed from 2023 to 2024. The photovoltaic and storage portfolio totals approximately 900 megawatts direct current with the potential for 1 to 2 gigawatt-hours of battery storage.
The projects are also expected to generate more than $40 million for Arizona schools through a long-term lease with the Arizona State Land Department and more than $5 million in tax revenue.
Longroad owns other operating solar projects across Arizona as well as an existing development portfolio. The company’s affiliate, Longroad Energy Services, is the asset manager and operator and is providing remote monitoring services to the project long term.
In July, the Phoenix Business Journal reported that Microsoft Corp. partnered with Longroad Energy. Microsoft plans to use solar energy from Longroad’s Maricopa County solar plants to offset the energy demands on its data centers.
Longroad, which is owned by the New Zealand Superannuation Fund Infratil Limited, operates and manages 3.6 gigawatts in total in addition to 2 gigawatts of wind and solar projects on behalf of third parties.
McCarthy’s Renewable Energy and Storage Group has completed more than 50 utility-scale clean energy projects in communities across the country, delivering a total capacity of approximately 5 gigawatts of clean energy production. McCarthy has offices in multiple states, including Arizona, and has approximately 3,700 salaried employees and craft professionals.
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, Arizona ranked fifth in the nation for solar in 2021. The state also had 7,346 solar jobs and 315 solar companies within its borders, including 66 manufacturers and 149 installers or developers.