EPC contractor

Also: builder, EPC, engineering, procurement and construction

The company that designs, buys the equipment for and builds a power project under one contract: the builder, and the one who hires the trades.

On a utility-scale solar, wind or battery project, the developer usually hires one company for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC). The EPC contractor finishes the design, orders the modules, trackers, turbines or batteries, and builds the site, either with its own crews or through trade subcontractors.

On a data center the same role is usually called the general contractor.

For a team selling into the site, the EPC is the buyer. Its project manager and superintendent pick the civil, piling, electrical and survey subcontractors and the equipment, often months before mobilization. Groundtrace names an EPC only when a public record does: a stormwater permit, a filing, a press release or the builder's own project page.

Guides

Who builds a utility-scale solar farm: developer, EPC and the tradesThe companies on a solar farm from site to switch-on, who hires whom, and when each one is chosen.Finding construction leads for energy and data center projects before they go to bidWhy solar, wind, storage and data center work rarely shows up on bid boards, and where to find it first.