Mortenson Construction Releases U.S. Solar Industry Market Study

Minneapolis, Minn., Jan. 11, 2012 — Mortenson Construction released a new study on the current state of the utility-scale solar industry and the outlook for the future. The report highlights both the significant challenges and promise industry professionals see in solar energy and the ways contractors can most help owners execute successful projects.  It is based on feedback from more than 250 professionals including utilities, developers, independent power producers, financiers, and suppliers.

“We greatly appreciate the opportunity to engage industry stakeholders in an effort to capture a broader perspective of the market,” said Mark Donahue, a vice president and general manager of Mortenson Construction’s Renewable Energy groups. “For example, we know that attaining grid parity against other energy sources is a key challenge facing our industry. However, more than half of the respondents believe parity with fossil fuels will be achieved within the next 10 years.”

In a year marked by exponential growth within the utility-scale segment, the report also touches on its various challenges and uncertainties, such as lack of federal policy, pricing pressures, and transmission infrastructure, among others. Despite these issues, professionals are confident that solar will be a vibrant and growing component of the U.S energy mix moving forward.
For a full copy of the report visit: http://www.mortenson.com/Resources/Images/15287.pdf   

About Mortenson Construction

Founded in 1954, Mortenson Construction is a U.S.-based, family-owned construction company. As one of the nation’s top builders, Mortenson provides a complete range of services, including planning, program management, preconstruction, general contracting, construction management, design-build, and development. Mortenson has offices in Chicago, Denver, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Seattle with international operations in Canada and China.

About Mortenson Renewable Energy Group

As a leading renewable energy contractor, Mortenson has constructed more than 100 wind and solar projects generating over 11,000 megawatts of clean renewable energy across the United States and Canada. With 100 percent of Mortenson’s business in the power sector coming from renewable energy, Engineering News-Record ranked Mortenson the 11th largest power contractor in the United States.

SOURCE: Mortenson Construction