A former executive at Borrego Solar has launched a new engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm, dubbed Aquila Energy, which he says will deliver “commitment to excellence” across the US solar and storage sectors.
The new “sustainability-focused” EPC – headed up by Brian Barker, former president of EPC at Borrego Solar – will be headquartered in California. The company said its leadership team has been involved in the construction of 400 solar and storage projects with a combined capacity of 2GW.
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The company received its first funding support from Dave and Sean Hood, owners of US commercial solar developer Coldwell Solar, and while it has yet to announce work on any particular projects, Barker noted that the company’s focus would be on “safety first”.
“Our team of industry leaders and the integrity they bring to the table are at the heart of our approach, influencing every decision and driving our commitment to excellence,” says Barker, Aquila CEO. “For example, we believe in safety first, ensuring the protection of people and assets through rigorous protocols and advanced training.”
The news comes as there is growing demand for EPC work in the US, with figures from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) suggesting that 2024 was a record-breaking year for renewable energy additions. NREL figures show that new solar additions increased from 27.1GW in 2023 to 41.2GW in 2024, as total US power generation additions exceeded 70GW for the first time.
While NREL expects this figure to fall slightly in 2025 – forecasting 32.7GW of new solar additions, as part of total power capacity additions of just under 60GW – 2025 is still expected to see the second-most power capacity additions, and solar capacity additions, of all time.
Indeed, Borrego Solar, which rebranded to Cleanleaf Energy last year, signed contracts for an additional 350MW of operations and maintenance (O&M) services in the US last May.
The news is also a positive development for the domestic US solar industry, with the recent scaling up of tariffs on Chinese goods from president Trump raising questions about the position of the US in the global solar supply chain. However, this week, Mike Carr, executive director of the Solar Energy Manufacturers for America (SEMA) Coalition, told PV Tech Premium that he doesn’t expect these tariffs to “meaningfully change” US solar manufacturing.
