European EPC contractors lead Wiki-Solar’s rankings, but struggling to maintain market share
The average plant size of 30 MW in Europe is way below that in China, the US and India
Together, top 35 EPCs in the list installed over 118 GW AC capacity out of which 20% was commissioned since the beginning of 2024
Even as European solar EPC contractors continue to maintain their dominance in the global markets, competition from China, India and the US is slowly eroding their market share, according to Wiki-Solar’s latest rankings.
Its regularly updated list comprises projects of more than 4 MW AC installed capacity. Wiki-Solar Founder Philip Wolfe explains that the average plant size in India is now over 80 MW, while that in the US it has gone up from 15 MW a decade ago to 90 MW today. China alone sees an average size of about 150 MW, but in Europe its equivalent is under 30 MW.
He refers to GW-scale developments in India’s Gujarat and Rajasthan, and China’s Ningxia and Inner Mongolia to drive the point home.
The overall numbers for the Chinese companies could be larger since there is not enough data coming out of the country in this space. Some of these companies, like China Power Construction and PowerChina, are also building large-scale projects in other geographies.
Europeans are finding it harder to match the growth in the 3 major markets, observes Wolfe.
Nevertheless, as of Q1 2025, US-based SOLV Energy, previously Swinerton Renewable Energy, leads the list of top utility-scale solar EPC contractors with an operating capacity of 14.6 GW. Another US firm, McCarthy Building, is placed 2nd with 7.8 GW AC capacity. On 3rd position is France’s Eiffage Energie Systèmes, operating 141 plants with a combined 5.6 GW.
India’s Larsen & Toubro and Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy take the next 2 positions on the 4th and 5th spots with 4.9 GW and 4.6 GW, respectively.
Together, the 35 contractors in the list installed over 118 GW AC capacity cumulatively, of which 20% was commissioned since the start of 2024. This capacity represents around 15% of the world’s total.
Wiki-Solar’s O&M contractors list, also for projects of more than 4 MW AC capacity, is led by SOLV with 13.7 GW AC, followed by First Solar’s 4.6 GW. The complete list is available on Wiki-Solar’s website.