McCarthy Building Companies constructs new 26 MW solar project in Imperial County, Calif

PHOENIX - March 22, 2018 - PRLog -- McCarthy Building Companies' Renewable Energy Team, based in Phoenix, was selected as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor on the Midway III solar project, a new 26-megawatt located in Calipatria, Imperial County, Calif. The project is owned by Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC.

Midway III broke ground in January 2018 and is scheduled for completion in October 2018. Once operational, Midway III will sell all the power generated to a large California utility through a 20-year fixed-price power purchase agreement.

McCarthy will hire 150 craft workers to construct the project, the majority of whom are being recruited from the local community, supporting growth in the clean energy job sector. The project will consist of assembling, installing and wiring horizontal 976 single-axis trackers supporting 140,976 solar panels. The three-month tracker installation phase begins this month.

"Working with McCarthy's nationally recognized Renewable Energy team to construct a large-scale solar project in California is an ideal investment opportunity for Greenbacker," stated Charles Wheeler, CEO of Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company. "Upon completion in the third quarter of 2018, we see Midway III as another quality asset producing stable and predictable cash flows to the benefit of our investors."

To train the local workforce in the emerging solar industry, McCarthy is implementing principles of Training Within Industry (TWI), a program originally developed by United States Department of War in the 1940's to help quickly and reliably re-train workers on moderately complex tasks. Through its TWI solar program, McCarthy applies its "Learn. Perform. Repeat" methodology and offers highly-effective and efficient training to workers who have little or no experience in solar installations. By deploying TWI and lean construction principles on solar projects from coast to coast McCarthy is overcoming the biggest challenge faced by the construction industry today, and successfully training its solar workforce.

"We're pleased to be entering into our first solar project with Greenbacker and adding to their solar portfolio and clean energy solutions in California," said Scott Canada, senior vice president of the Renewable Energy team at McCarthy Building Companies. "And, through our TWI training program, we look forward to bringing new jobs to the community and re-training the local workforce with skills that can be applied to our growing industry."

Since 2013, McCarthy's Renewable Energy Team has completed or is in the process of constructing more than 30 utility-scale clean energy projects in communities from coast to coast, a combined capacity of more than 1.3 Gigawatts (GW) of clean energy production. McCarthy earned the 6^th place ranking for EPC utility-scale solar installations in U.S. by Solar Power World's 2017 Top 500 Solar Contractors.

About McCarthy Building Companies

McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. (http://www.mccarthy.com/) is the oldest privately held national construction company in the country – with more than 150 years spent collaborating with partners to solve complex building challenges on behalf of its clients. With an unrelenting focus on safety and a comprehensive quality program that span all phases of every project, McCarthy utilizes industry-leading design phase and construction techniques combined with value-add technology to maximize outcomes. Repeatedly honored as a Best Place to Work and Healthiest Employer, McCarthy is ranked the 15th largest domestic general contractor (Engineering News-Record, May 2017). With approximately 1,800 salaried employees and offices in St. Louis, Atlanta; Collinsville, Ill.; Portage, Ind.; Kansas City, Kan.; Omaha, Neb.; Phoenix; Las Vegas; Denver; Dallas, Houston; Albuquerque; and San Diego, Newport Beach, San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento, Calif. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned (http://www.mccarthy.com/about/employee-ownership). More information about the company is available online at www.mccarthy.com or by following the company on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/mccarthybuilding), Twitter (https://twitter.com/McCarthyBuild), LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/company/119184?trk=tyah), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mccarthybuild/) and Google+ (http://www.google.com/+MccarthyBuilding).

About Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company

Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company is a publicly registered, non-traded limited liability company that owns and operates a diversified portfolio of income-producing renewable energy power plants, energy efficiency projects and other sustainable investments. For more information, visit www.greenbackerrenewableenergy.com.