Utility-scale solar and battery energy storage projects are generating more data, facing larger cybersecurity risks, and relying on a surprisingly small pool of experienced SCADA professionals.
Recorded live at Inductive Automation’s Solar & BESS Discovery Day 2026 in San Diego, Mike Flores sits down with Duke Green, SCADA Manager at McCarthy Building Companies, to discuss SCADA optimization, EPC project delivery, industrial AI, cybersecurity, data strategy, and the controls-talent shortage facing renewable energy.
Duke explains how McCarthy oversees SCADA and controls development throughout the design and construction lifecycle—helping owners, subcontractors, and technology providers avoid costly integration problems and deliver an optimized system at turnover.
The conversation also explores how the industry has moved beyond isolated, air-gapped control systems. Today’s solar and BESS facilities require wireless connectivity, IT/OT collaboration, cybersecurity expertise, data engineering, cloud integration, and increasingly, AI-enabled analysis.
⚡ SCADA integration for utility-scale solar and BESS projects
⚡ McCarthy’s role as an engineering, procurement, and construction partner
⚡ SCADA oversight during design, construction, and project turnover
⚡ Why traditional air-gapped security is no longer enough
⚡ AI-driven cybersecurity threats and vulnerability discovery
⚡ Treating operational and project data as a strategic asset
⚡ Using Ignition across renewable-energy projects
⚡ The shortage of experienced SCADA and controls professionals
⚡ How CI/CD, infrastructure as code, and data engineering are changing OT roles
⚡ The growing need for IT and OT teams to work together
⚡ AI-assisted analysis, forecasting, and predictive maintenance
⚡ Why AI is more likely to augment technical workers than replace them
Duke also shares McCarthy’s history as a company founded in 1864 and its culture as a 100% employee-owned national builder.
If you work in renewable energy, solar, battery storage, SCADA, EPC project delivery, industrial automation, cybersecurity, controls engineering, or industrial AI, this episode provides a practical look at the technology and workforce challenges shaping the industry.
McCarthy Building Companies
Inductive Automation’s Solar & BESS Discovery Day 2026
Presented by OpSite Energy
OpSite Energy provides 24/7 remote operations, SCADA and control-room services, alarm management, industrial automation, OT/IT integration, and industrial AI solutions.
https://www.opsiteenergy.com
Subscribe to the EnergyTech Podcast for more conversations covering renewable energy, industrial automation, operational technology, SCADA, cybersecurity, AI, and energy innovation.
00:00 – Live from Solar & BESS Discovery Day
00:51 – Meet Duke Green of McCarthy
01:32 – McCarthy’s role as a renewable-energy EPC
02:18 – SCADA oversight from design through turnover
02:50 – McCarthy’s history and employee ownership
03:38 – Protecting the owner’s interests through SCADA
03:58 – How cybersecurity and AI changed the industry
05:05 – Why data has become a critical asset
05:35 – Digitizing the entire project lifecycle
06:07 – Ignition deployments across renewable projects
06:44 – The shortage of qualified SCADA professionals
08:01 – Why SCADA struggles to attract technical talent
08:45 – How the controls-engineering role is changing
09:28 – IT/OT collaboration in modern operations
10:04 – FEL, bidding, design, and turnkey delivery
11:10 – Why AI is the industry’s biggest opportunity
11:41 – Forecasting and predictive maintenance with AI
12:06 – AI agents as workforce augmentation
12:46 – The value of industry networking
Music: Uygar Duzgun – “Fast Life”
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound
#SolarEnergy #BESS #SCADA #IndustrialAI #RenewableEnergy #OTCybersecurity #IgnitionSCADA #IndustrialAutomation #PredictiveMaintenance #EnergyStorage #EPC #EnergyTechPodcast
