SOLV Energy

Overview

SOLV Energy is one of the largest U.S. utility-scale solar and battery-storage construction contractors, headquartered in San Diego, California. It builds plants on an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) basis and provides operations and maintenance (O&M) to plants it and others have built. SOLV does not own generation, sell power, or hold power-purchase agreements of its own; its customers are the developers, independent power producers, and utilities that own the projects. Since 2008 it has constructed more than 500 power plants representing over 21 GWdc, and it provides O&M to about 155 operating plants representing nearly 22 GWdc. By revenue, SOLV is the #2 U.S. solar contractor per Engineering News-Record; by cumulative installed capacity, Wiki-Solar's Q3 2024 database ranked it #1 among solar EPCs; and Wood Mackenzie ranked it the #2 provider of O&M to existing utility-scale solar in the Americas in 2024.

The business began in 2008 as Swinerton Renewable Energy, a division of Swinerton Builders, with a separate O&M arm, SOLV, Inc., established in 2012. American Securities, a U.S. private equity firm, acquired both from Swinerton in a deal announced in September 2021 and completed in December 2021, then combined them under the SOLV Energy brand. SOLV Energy, Inc. went public on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker MWH in February 2026. American Securities and the other pre-IPO equity owners retained about 88.4% of voting power, so SOLV is publicly traded but remains a Nasdaq "controlled company."

The IPO came during a period of rising U.S. electricity demand tied to data centers and broader electrification, which has increased orders for utility-scale solar and storage. The federal policy posture toward solar incentives after 2025 has been less favorable. SOLV reported FY2025 revenue of about $2.49 billion, carried roughly $8.2 billion of backlog as of March 31, 2026, and raised its 2026 revenue guidance alongside Q1 results. It self-performs construction in-house on large projects rather than subcontracting the core work.

What SOLV Does

SOLV provides end-to-end infrastructure services for utility-scale solar and battery energy storage, from engineering and procurement through construction, commissioning, and long-term maintenance. EPC work is the bulk of the business at about 93% of backlog, with O&M and asset services making up the rest.

Scale & Track Record

Since 2008, SOLV has constructed more than 500 power plants representing over 21 GWdc, and it now provides O&M to about 155 operating plants representing nearly 22 GWdc. It is a licensed contractor in 41 states and authorized to operate across all 48 continental U.S. states. That footprint has widened sharply since the 2021 American Securities deal, when the combined business operated in 26 states.

Where SOLV ranks depends on the metric and the source, and the three most-cited rankings do not collapse into one number. By revenue, Engineering News-Record ranked it the #2 U.S. solar contractor (and #5 in power overall) based on 2024 and 2025 revenues, which is the company's own characterization in its SEC filings. By cumulative installed capacity, Wiki-Solar's database ranked it the #1 solar EPC contractor as of Q3 2024, with 13.6 GW built, ahead of McCarthy Building Companies and Eiffage Énergie Systèmes. By O&M, Wood Mackenzie ranked it #2 in the Americas by MWdc managed in 2024.

Notable Projects

On every project below, SOLV is the EPC contractor; the owner/developer is the client.

Recent EPC awards include a 209 MWdc Texas project for Sol Systems, awarded in November 2025, and a community-scale project in Bell County, Texas, with Matrix Renewables.

From Swinerton to IPO

The renewables business started in 2008 as Swinerton Renewable Energy, a division of Swinerton Builders, with George Hershman leading the effort. A separate in-house and third-party O&M arm, SOLV, Inc., followed in 2012. American Securities acquired both from Swinerton, announcing the deal in September 2021 and completing it in December 2021, then combined the EPC and O&M groups under the single SOLV Energy brand. Hershman became CEO of the merged company in November 2021 and still holds the role.

SOLV Energy, Inc. priced its Nasdaq IPO at $25.00 per share and began trading under the ticker MWH on February 11, 2026, raising about $589 million gross after the underwriters exercised their over-allotment in full. The offering closed on February 12, 2026, the day after trading began. The company used part of the proceeds to repay about $402 million of term loans, with the remainder for general corporate purposes and potential acquisitions. SOLV uses an UP-C (umbrella partnership C-corporation) structure, which gives future tax benefits to SOLV Energy, Inc. and the continuing equity owners, and American Securities and the pre-IPO owners retained about 88.4% of voting power.

Financial Performance

SOLV reported FY2025 revenue of about $2.49 billion, net income of $149.2 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $341.7 million, up from FY2024 revenue of about $1.85 billion, net income of $9.9 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $165.1 million, per the company's full-year 2025 results. That is revenue growth of about 35% year over year. Backlog was roughly $8.2 billion as of March 31, 2026, up from $6.7 billion at September 30, 2025, split about 93% EPC and 7% O&M.

In Q1 2026, revenue was $676.8 million, up 66% from $407.8 million a year earlier, with growth from new utility-scale solar, storage, and T&D construction. Adjusted EBITDA rose to $93 million from $34 million, and gross profit was $119 million, a 17.6% margin. SOLV reported a GAAP net loss of about $27 million for the quarter, driven by a one-time, non-cash charge of about $52 million to modify legacy equity awards in the IPO reorganization. The loss came from IPO mechanics, not from operations. Alongside the results, management raised its FY2026 guidance to revenue of $3.72 billion to $3.82 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $435 million to $455 million. That guidance is a management forecast and carries the usual uncertainty.

Strategy & Outlook

SOLV's model is to self-perform EPC on large projects of 200 MWdc and up. Its customers are developers, independent power producers, and utilities, increasingly those serving data-center load, and the company points to rising power demand as the main driver of its work. The $45 million Roberson Waite Electric acquisition extends that model into self-performed electrical work, putting more of the build with in-house crews.

The policy picture cuts in more than one direction. CEO George Hershman has publicly argued for a "bright future" for utility-scale solar despite the post-2025 federal administration's less favorable posture toward solar incentives, citing demand growth; that is his stated view, not a neutral forecast. At the sector level, the domestic-content bonus can raise the investment tax credit by up to 10 percentage points for projects using enough U.S.-made equipment, which helps the economics for the developers SOLV builds for. No specific SOLV-level supplier or domestic-manufacturing commitment appears in its public disclosures to date.

Key Considerations

Customer concentration.SOLV's ten largest customers provided about 73% of 2025 revenue. With that much riding on a handful of clients, the loss, delay, or rescheduling of a few large projects would move results materially. The S-1 lists customer concentration among its risk factors.

Policy and tax-credit dependence. Utility-scale solar economics depend heavily on federal incentives, including the investment and production tax credits and the domestic-content bonus. The post-2025 federal posture toward solar incentives has been less favorable, and backlog conversion could slow if incentives are curtailed. On the other side, data-center load and broader electrification are pushing utilities and developers toward more solar and storage.

Tariffs and module supply.SOLV's S-1 names tariff and supply-chain exposure as a risk. At the sector level, the projects it builds are exposed to solar-module trade actions, including antidumping and countervailing duties, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, and Section 201/301 tariffs, all of which affect module cost and availability. SOLV has not quantified a specific dollar impact from tariffs in its public disclosures, so these stay sector-level context.

Interest-rate sensitivity. Utility-scale solar projects are capital-intensive and sensitive to financing costs. Higher rates can delay or cancel client projects, which would reduce EPC demand. This is an analytical inference from standard project-finance economics rather than a SOLV-specific disclosure.

Controlled-company governance and execution. American Securities and the pre-IPO owners hold about 88.4% of voting power, so public Class A holders have limited governance influence, and SOLV uses Nasdaq controlled-company exemptions. On execution, large fixed-price EPC contracts carry cost-overrun and schedule risk, and quarterly results can be lumpy from project timing.

Sources