Construction Begins on 2 Texas Solar Farms

Lightsource bp has chosen McCarthy Building Companies to serve as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for two utility-scale solar farms in Texas. McCarthy is responsible for the design, procurement, construction and commissioning of both facilities: the 163 megawatt Elm Branch Solar Farm located approximately 40 miles south of Dallas in Ennis, Texas and the 153 megawatt Briar Creek Solar Farm located 60 miles south of Dallas in Corsicana, Texas.

Construction of the two projects recently began and is slated to complete in September with commercial operations of both solar farms expected by late 2021. The energy produced will offset greenhouse gas emissions by a total of 370,000 metric tons of CO2 annually.

McCarthy’s Renewable Energy & Storage team plans to hire approximately 500 craft workers to construct the two projects — the majority of whom are being recruited from the local region and the military veteran community, as part of its new veteran recruitment program —and will train laborers seeking utility-scale solar construction experience. Area residents and military veterans interested in working on one of these solar projects should visit www.McCarthy.com/careers/search, and select the city where the project is located to find job postings for positions ranging from entry level to experienced, including laborer, operator, crew lead, electrician and journeyman electrician.