CH2M HILL (Englewood, Colo.) for its role as a consultant, owner's engineer and engineering procurement & construction (EPC) contractor for renewable power generation projects and solar PV manufacturing plants. CH2M HILL is one of the most broadly capable firms in the consulting segment of the wind power industry, performing tasks ranging from upfront analyses of environmental issues and securing permits through wind farm design and engineering, including representing developers in the EPC process as owner's engineer. In 2010, the company successfully obtained permits for the 800 MW Alta Oak Creek Mojave Wind Energy Project in California; the firm also performed due diligence for a 50MW geothermal plant in California and prepared a cost estimate for a 30 MW flashed steam geothermal plant in Utah.
CH2M HILL is active in both PV and concentrating solar power (CSP) thermal projects. Company representatives told CCBJ that in 2010, it worked for developers in Australia, Canada, Middle East/North Africa and the United States as consulting engineer or EPC contractor on projects totaling 1.2 GW. While most clients are confidential at this stage, it's publicly known that the firm is the engineer of CSP developer Brightsource's Ivanpah heliostat assembly building. In the first weeks of 2011, the company won an engineering contract for a 250MW CSP project in Egypt.
CH2M HILL also works on PV manufacturing facilities. In November 2010, REC Group (Sandvika, Norway) celebrated the opening of a 740 MW integrated wafer, cell and module manufacturing plant in Tuas, Singapore, designed and engineered by CH2M HILL's Industrial and Advanced Technology business group. The largest single investment ever made by REC (which had $633 million in Q3 2010 revenues), according to Solar PV Management Magazine, the $1.93 billion project is the largest cleantech investment ever made in Singapore and one of the world's largest manufacturing plants of its type. CH2M HILL also provided engineering and design services to PV manufacturing plants representing about 2 GW of capacity, including projects in Malaysia, China, the Middle East and United States. The firm is also assisting PV manufacturers with the complex process of seeking loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Energy. Employee-owned CH2M HILL had $6.3 billion in revenues in 2009 and a staff of 23,500.
