US, Chinese, and Indian companies continue to dominate the list of top engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractors in the utility-scale solar sector, according to a new ranking published by Wiki-Solar.
The rise of large-scale solar projects in their home countries has significantly contributed to the success of these firms. Philip Wolfe, founder of Wiki-Solar, notes that “China, India, and the US now have plants at the gigawatt scale,” citing major developments in regions such as Gujarat, Texas, Rajasthan, and Qinghai. Wiki-Solar's analysis reveals that the average plant size in India is over 80 MW, while the average size in the US is 90 MW, a substantial increase from 15 MW a decade ago.
SOLV continues to hold the top position in the rankings, followed by McCarthy Building and France's Eiffage, which climbed to second and third place, respectively. India's Larsen & Toubro surged to fourth place, while other notable movers include Tata, China Power Construction, and China Machinery Engineering.
In contrast, European EPC contractors face challenges due to smaller plant sizes, with the average size in Europe being under 20 MW. To keep up, European firms such as Eiffage, Belectric, Equans, juwi, and Cox Abengoa have to complete more projects. Wolfe highlights the strength of European contractors, noting that companies like Goldbeck, Elmya, and Grupotec are successfully competing with global players.
Together, the 34 EPC contractors listed have installed over 100 MWac of utility-scale solar capacity, with 30% of this capacity coming online since the beginning of 2023. It is important to note that Wiki-Solar measures capacity in MWac delivered to the grid, excluding projects below 4 MWac. The reported capacity would be approximately 25% higher if measured by the DC solar array output in MWp.
Additionally, many of the leading operations and maintenance (O&M) contractors are also listed among the top EPC firms.
