Over the past several years, Blymyer Engineers has seen a major increase in solar projects in California and the U.S. Since the completion of our first solar project in 2003, we’ve designed and engineered hundreds of utility-scale and distributed-generation solar facilities—amounting to roughly 15% of the total solar capacity of the U.S.
This exponential growth in our solar business reflects the explosive demand for solar energy we’re seeing nationwide. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the U.S. installed 15.8GWAC of photovoltaics (PV) onto the electric grid in the first nine months of 2023, as a result of growth in all sectors. This is an all-time record.
Thanks to a number of factors, including strong federal policies like the solar Investment Tax Credit, rapidly declining costs, and increasing demand across the private and public sector for clean electricity—there’s now more than enough solar capacity to power nearly 33 million homes.
Solar’s share of new capacity grows rapidly
Of all the alternative energy sources, solar has added the most generating capacity to the grid for each of the last five years. 53% of all new electric capacity that was added to the grid in 2023 came from solar. This marked the first time in 80 years a renewable energy resource has captured a majority of new capacity added. Solar’s increasing competitiveness against other technologies has allowed it to quickly increase its share of total U.S. electrical generation — from just 0.1% in 2010 to over 5% today.
The growth in solar has also spurred demand for other renewable energy resources. In particular, more and more homeowners and businesses are looking for solar systems that are paired with battery storage. By 2028, SEIA predicts that 28% of all new distributed solar capacity will be paired with storage, compared to less than 12% in 2023. The utility-scale market also recognizes the advantages of pairing solar with storage, with 3 GW of new storage systems deployed alongside solar in 2023, more than double the capacity deployed in 2022.
A growing demand for Blymyer’s end-to-end services
Blymyer is well positioned to capitalize on the demand for solar and battery storage installations. “We’re seeing increasing demand for services that combine several different renewable energy sources,” explains Mike Rantz, Blymyer President. “For example, Blymyer recently completed structural and engineering work on a BESS for a utility-scale solar project, Victory Pass in Desert City, a facility which we also designed, working with EPC SOLV Energy, a frequent partner of ours on various solar, BESS and EV initiatives. Our multifaceted expertise and extensive working with all renewable energy sources gives us an edge over other firms in the industry.”