Aberdeen-based Wood plc, the global engineering and consulting company, said on Tuesday it secured two solar engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts from an American power and energy company worth over $200 million.

Wood shares rose about 12% to around 236p to give the firm a stock market value of about £1.6 billion. Wood shares were trading about 370p in early March.

Wood employs around 55,000 people in more than 60 countries and has revenues of around $10 billion.

Wood said it was selected following a competitive tender process and will be responsible for delivering two major solar projects in Virginia with a combined output of 190 megawatts.

The first project is a 120-megawatt solar facility in Pittsylvania County, expected to be operational in 2022. 

The second project covers a 70-megawatt solar facility in Chesapeake and is expected to be operational in late 2021. 

The new solar facilities boost Virginia’s Clean Economy Act, passed on April 13, 2020, which mandates that the state’s electricity be 100% carbon-free by 2050.

Stephanie Cox, CEO of Wood’s Asset Solutions Americas business, said: “These contracts build on a 10-year relationship with our client, for whom we’ve executed more than 40 projects.

“The awards are testament to our ability to maintain consistent project execution, deliver to accelerated construction schedules and bring forth a strong EPC proposition and skilled workforce to meet our client’s project goals. 

“We are seeing an unstoppable momentum towards a lower-carbon energy environment and Wood is proud to partner with clients that are committed to investing in a sustainable energy future.”

The new contracts follow a series of other recent contract wins for Wood including $100 million of onshore wind projects that will see Wood’s US renewables business double in size in 2020.