As the U.S. power industry evolves toward cleaner energy sources, the construction industry is following the trend by diversifying into new markets and, in some cases, getting out of traditional ones.
San Francisco-based Swinerton Builders started looking for opportunities in the solar EPC business after the 2008 recession, when its traditional construction business declined. What started as a business to build distributed solar generation projects at client-owned locations has become, starting in 2010, a business that builds large-scale solar projects for utilities—and the market continues to grow.