McCarthy Southwest, a division of McCarthy Building Companies Inc., recently promoted Abe Babcock to the role of project director.
In this position, Babcock will focus on developing and leading the various internal and external teams on a solar construction project to ensure a successful, integrated approach throughout all phases of the project.
Babcock previously served as project manager at McCarthy and has been with the construction company for 13 years. He has a bachelor’s degree in construction management from theUniversity of Nebraska. He is also a member of the American Institute of Constructors.
From the start of pre-construction, Babcock works closely with the pre-construction director and design team to bring added value in the design phase based on innovation and his construction experience. Once construction is underway, his leadership role focuses on project management continuity with emphasis on cost, schedule and quality control.
“With his 13 years of construction experience on a wide variety of projects, Abe is fully prepared to move into the role of projectdirector,” said Scott Canada, senior vice president of renewables for McCarthy Southwest. “He has been successfully navigating and managing a very technically challenging, large-scale solar project in California most recently and has proven his leadership ability.”
He is currently overseeing First Solar’s California Flats project, a 171 MWdc solar project located on approximately 1,300 acres of previously dryland farmed, private land in southeast Monterey County, Calif.
During his time at McCarthy, Babcock has been involved in numerous projects in both Arizona and California totaling in excess of $700 million. He was part of the team that completed the Pascua Yaqui tribe’s Casino del Sol in Tucson, Ariz., one of the toughest schedules that the McCarthy Southwest team has ever achieved. He was also involved in the construction of the ASU Foundation, APS Palo Verde Outage Support Facility, ADOA 4,000 Public Prison Bed facility, Hyder II Solar Plant, and First Solar’s Lost Hills project in California.
