Solas Energy® Secures Contract for 450 MW Solar + Storage Projects in Arizona

Solas Energy® Wins Copia Power Contract for 450 MW Solar and 1200 MWh Storage Projects in Arizona.

FORT COLLINS, Colorado – Solas Energy®, a leader in renewable energy consulting services to support the energy transition, is proud to announce it was awarded the Owner’s representative contract for Copia Power’s Harquahala Sun 1 and 2 solar (photovoltaic) and battery energy storage system (BESS) projects. These world-class solar and storage projects are located in Maricopa County, Arizona, one of the highest solar resource areas in the United States. When complete, the projects are expected to provide the region with 450 MW of American-made clean solar energy annually, in addition to 300 MW / 1200 MWh of battery energy storage. The projects recently closed $1.2 billion in construction-to-term loan financing to facilitate project construction.

Evelyn Carpenter, President and CEO of Solas Energy, expressed her enthusiasm, stating, “The award of the Harquahala Sun solar and storage projects is a tremendous milestone for Solas Energy. These projects underscore our team’s ability to effectively manage project execution risk for our clients. Executing a highly complex, multi-phase project of this magnitude requires a strong client partnership and we are honored to be entrusted with this important project. Copia Power is truly a leader in renewable energy project development and execution, and we are pleased to support their mission of accelerating the US energy transition through large-scale deployment of renewable energy infrastructure.”

Tony Archibald, Chief Operating Officer at Copia Power added, “Solas Energy is a trusted partner of Copia Power. Their extensive experience in managing the construction of large-scale renewable energy infrastructure enhances our team’s capabilities as we continue to rapidly develop, build, and deliver impactful renewable energy infrastructure in support of the clean energy transition.”

Solas Energy’s Project and Construction Management Division provides comprehensive solutions to support the development, construction, and operation of utility-scale wind, solar, and energy storage systems throughout the US. To date, the company has supported the development of more than 100 GW of clean energy projects, including gigawatt-plus installations.

About Solas Energy
Solas Energy, headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado, is a US-based consulting firm specializing in energy projects across renewables, data centers, storage, high-voltage projects, and conventional generation infrastructure. With 16 years of experience on more than 100 gigawatts of projects, Solas Energy provides services including owner’s engineering, project and construction management, and development support. The company is focused on US opportunities, supporting clients with proven expertise and future-focused solutions. Learn more at www.solasenergyus.com or follow us at www.linkedin.com/company/solasenergy-us.

Media Contact:
Julie Wright
(W)right On Communications
jwright@wrightoncomm.com

150 150 Solas Energy®
Close

President & CEO

Evelyn Carpenter

Evelyn Carpenter is the founder, President, and CEO of Solas Energy®, and a recognized pioneer in America’s renewable energy industry. With more than two decades of experience advancing clean energy projects, she has built Solas Energy into one of the nation’s most trusted consulting partners for renewable development, due diligence, and project and construction management.

Since 2009, Evelyn has led Solas Energy to support more than 100 gigawatts of renewable and energy storage projects, providing the expertise that enables developers, investors, and utilities to deliver complex projects with confidence. A licensed professional engineer in California, Evelyn began her career in the petroleum, petrochemical, and conventional generation sectors before transitioning to renewable energy in 2001. Her early experience gave her a pragmatic, systems-level understanding of energy infrastructure—insight that continues to inform Solas Energy’s balanced, solutions-oriented approach to the energy transition.

Today, Evelyn continues to guide Solas Energy’s growth as the company supports the next generation of renewable infrastructure and partners with Invera Energy™ to expand its consulting model into emerging energy markets.

Close

Vice President of Project & Construction Management

Felipe Uscátegui

Felipe brings over 40 years of energy industry experience to his leadership role. His experience includes construction planning, engineering, and project management for the development and execution of more than 4 GW of utility-scale wind, solar, energy storage, and biomass generation facilities. Felipe’s conventional generation experience encompasses oil, gas, and biomass-fired power plants, and EPC BOP execution of simple cycle and combined cycle gas turbine power plants. His responsibilities extend to EPC proposal estimates, contract negotiation, scheduling, direct and subcontracted labor management, procurement, and overall project management throughout North America. He also brings a strong background in global management to his role, and fluency in English, Spanish, French, and Italian.

Close

Associate

Scott Burgener

Scott Burgener has 17 years of experience in project planning and scheduling, cost estimating, budgeting, monitoring and reporting, and financial analysis for renewable and conventional energy generation developers and utilities. Scott is highly experienced in coordinating all aspects of work related to the construction of commercial and utility-scale energy projects, while managing overall project scope, schedule, and costs.

Close

Senior Associate

Robert Sims

Robert Sims is a Senior Associate with over 45 years of experience in the development, planning, engineering, construction, and commissioning of utility-scale power generation facilities. Much of his experience was with a large international electric utility and power-generating company with global operations. Robert specializes in wind and solar renewable energy facilities, as well as battery energy storage systems (BESS). His extensive experience in conventional energy generation technologies encompasses gas turbine, combined cycle, large diesel, and hydro facilities. His focus includes heavy power and high-voltage areas of the facilities, with responsibility for the technical and administrative aspects of utility interconnections, supporting voltages as high as 500 kV.

Close

Business Development & Land Strategy Manager

Michelle Nicholson

Michelle Nicholson is an experienced land and stakeholder consultation specialist with a demonstrated history of success in the energy sector, overseeing land acquisition, stakeholder engagement, and community sentiment initiatives for over 5 GW of wind, solar, and energy storage projects. Her expertise encompasses environmental consulting, due diligence, land control, and title review. She has a particular interest in stakeholder management, analyzing and designing effective communication strategies to assist in the permitting of projects. Michelle also supports business development and client engagement to ensure successful project delivery.

Close

Director of Project Management

Melody-Ann Cote

Melody-Ann Cote has over 30 years of project and contract management experience, 15 of which have been focused on the delivery of renewable energy and energy storage construction projects. She is an expert project manager, overseeing owner’s obligations under construction agreements, supply agreements, financing agreements, interconnection, and power purchase agreements, regulatory permits, and land agreements. She has successfully managed construction for more than 2 GW of wind and solar (PV) energy and 3 GWh of utility-scale energy storage projects. Her expertise includes budget management, with experience managing over $5 billion in construction budgets to-date. Melody-Ann provides clients with independent engineering (IE) review process management and financial management review services to support project construction.

Close

Senior Associate

Jerry Fuchs

Jerry Fuchs has over 40 years of experience in the renewable energy and energy storage industry. He is well versed in all aspects of wind, solar and battery energy storage project evaluation and implementation, with comprehensive working knowledge of electrical power generation, transmission, and power markets. Through direct participation and management of project development teams, he has been responsible for the identification, development and acquisition of large portfolios of generation projects, including transitioning projects from development into construction and commercial operation. Jerry’s focus includes project management, due diligence, and O&M and performance evaluation.

Close

Director of Consulting Services

Chloe Ford

Chloe Ford is the Director of Consulting Services at Solas Energy®, where she leads the due diligence and consulting services engagements across the organization. With over eleven years of experience in project and environmental management, Chloe brings deep expertise in permitting, regulatory compliance, and due diligence. Her work spans wind, solar, energy storage, conventional generation, and utility infrastructure projects. She is passionate about crafting innovative solutions to the complex social and environmental challenges within the renewable energy sector, leveraging her expertise to advance sustainable development and champion responsible energy transitions.

Close

Senior Construction Manager

Jon Johnson

Jon Johnson is a Senior Construction Manager with over 25 years of experience supervising the installation and maintenance of renewable energy facilities (including wind, solar and energy storage projects) and simple cycle gas turbine plants. His responsibilities include overseeing EPC and equipment suppliers, supervising site construction personnel, and providing leadership and direction for onsite construction and maintenance activities. Jon has successfully managed construction for more than 2 GW of wind and solar (PV) energy and 1.8 GWh of utility-scale energy storage projects.

Close

Senior Construction Manager

Kelby Rohr

Kelby Rohr is a Senior Construction Manager with over 29 years of renewable energy and energy storage project experience. He has performed construction inspections, quality control, quality assurance, mechanical completion walk-down services, assembly, contractor management and safety management on wind, solar and battery energy storage projects. Kelby has supported over 2 GW of utility-scale wind and solar (PV) energy projects and 3.3 GWh of utility-scale energy storage projects.

Close