Assertion Supported AI assessment confidence: 88% certainty 4/5 debate potential 3/5

Hershman: 85% of solar labor is mechanical, not skilled electrical

George Hershman · How AI is modernizing EPCs · Apr 30, 2026 · at 12:04

George Hershman, CEO of utility-scale solar EPC SOLV Energy, explains labor requirements on solar project sites compared to data centers.

0:00 / 0:42exact quote · 42.8s

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“If you think about a solar project, You know, probably 85 to 90% of that is really, you know, labor and mechanical labor, right? You are, we're putting posts in the ground, we're bolting together racking systems, and we're installing modules. And then, you know, 10 to 15% of that is really skilled, skilled electricians that are doing terminations, And splicing and, you know, the kind of highly technical skill that you need to do those type of activities.”

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The claim, plainly

Roughly 85% to 90% of labor on a solar project is mechanical work (driving posts, bolting racking, and installing modules), while only 10% to 15% requires highly skilled electricians.

a quote alone can be ambiguous, so this restates it with the references and context of the conversation around it resolved. AI-written; the tape below the player is the source.

Assessment

George Hershman's estimate that roughly 85% to 90% of field labor on a utility-scale solar project is mechanical (driving posts, assembling racking, mounting modules) while 10% to 15% consists of skilled electrical labor aligns with industry benchmarks. NREL Solar Photovoltaic Cost Benchmarks and EPC contractor workforce models show that civil and structural assembly comprises approximately 80% to 90% of total craft labor hours, whereas licensed electrical trades (terminations, cable splicing, combiner/inverter connections, and substation interconnection) account for roughly 10% to 20% (typically 10%–15% in major solar markets like Texas, Florida, and Arizona, though strict licensing states can push higher). As an offhand industry breakdown of utility-scale solar labor volume, the statement is accurate.

NREL Solar Photovoltaic Cost Benchmarks confirm that person-hours in utility-scale solar installations are heavily dominated by repetitive structural and mechanical BOS labor (pile driving, racking assembly, module mounting).
EPC project staffing histograms and craft workforce data indicate civil and mechanical trades account for 80% to 90% of field staffing on standard 100+ MW projects.
Specialized electrical craft labor (terminations, medium/high-voltage cabling, substation, and commissioning) represents 10% to 15% (up to 20%) of total craft labor volume on standard utility PV installations.

Checked against

[1] sec.gov [2] pvrack.com [3] nlr.gov [4] epri.com [5] powerrayllc.com [6] nlr.gov [7] skillit.com [8] commercialsolarguy.com

"NREL/TP-7A40" "utility-scale" "labor" "electrical" "U.S. Solar Photovoltaic System and Energy Storage Cost Benchmarks" "structural" "electrical" "labor" "George Hershman" "85%" "10%" OR "15%" solar utility scale solar labor requirements mechanical electrical post driving racking module installation electrician percentage "U.S. Solar Photovoltaic System and Energy Storage Cost Benchmarks" "labor" "utility-scale" "tracking" "utility-scale" solar "mechanical labor" "electrical labor" percentage NREL OR SEIA "utility-scale solar" "labor hours" "electrical" "mechanical" pile racking module solar installation labor breakdown percentage mechanical electrical utility scale NREL "SOLV Energy" "mechanical" "electrical" percentage labor "racking" "module installation" "electricians" percentage labor hours solar

assessed as of 2026-09-02

This assessment is an AI reading of a public statement, made against the cited references with the confidence shown. It can be wrong. The quote, the tape and the references are all on this page; if something is off, use report an error below. full disclaimer →

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electricians solar projects

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