Aberdeen’s Wood wins major US solar contracts worth $200m

Wood, the Aberdeen-headquartered energy and engineering services group, has secured two major US solar contracts worth in excess of $200 million (£158m).

More and more solar energy schemes are popping up around the world.

The firm, which is due to update on trading later this week, said it had secured the solar engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts from an unnamed American power and energy company.

Wood was selected following a competitive tender process and will be responsible for delivering the solar projects in the state of Virginia with a combined output of 190 megawatts.

The first project is a 120-megawatt solar facility in Pittsylvania County, expected to be operational in 2022. The second covers a 70-megawatt solar facility in Chesapeake that is scheduled to be operational in late 2021.

Both solar facilities also further the state’s clean economy act, passed in April, which mandates that all electricity be 100 per cent carbon-free by 2050.

Stephanie Cox, chief executive of Wood’s asset solutions Americas business, said: “These contracts build on a ten-year relationship with our client, for whom we’ve executed more than 40 projects.

“The awards are testament to our ability to maintain consistent project execution, deliver to accelerated construction schedules and bring forth a strong EPC proposition and skilled workforce to meet our client’s project goals.

“We are seeing an unstoppable momentum towards a lower-carbon energy environment and Wood is proud to partner with clients that are committed to investing in a sustainable energy future.”

The latest contract awards follow a series of other recent wins including $100m of onshore wind projects, that will see the Scottish group’s US renewables business double in size in 2020.

Wood, which operates in more than 60 countries, employing some 55,000 people, is expected to update the market on the impact of the sharp fall in oil prices when it reports on trading.

In April, the group said it was pulling its planned dividend for the last financial year, given oil prices had suffered their steepest drop in 20 years.

Executive directors and senior leaders at the company have taken a temporary 10 per cent salary reduction, some workers have been furloughed and others offered unpaid leave as it attempts to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak.

However, the group stressed it was now less dependent on the oil and gas sector after broadening its business in recent years and that its track record of adapting to market conditions stood it in good stead.

Wood recently said it plans to reduce its emissions by 40 per cent by 2030.

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