NTTSA Advantage White paper
A Strategy for Solar Success: The Business Case for the National Tri-Trade Solar Agreement (NTTSA)
NTTSA Accelerates Solar
According to a 2026 report from Inclusive Economics, the National Tri-Trade Solar Agreement (NTTSA) is proving to be a decisive strategy for solar developers and contractors looking to mitigate execution risk, improve underwriting confidence, and accelerate project timelines. The agreement, which involves the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), and the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE), provides a streamlined, flexible pathway to access the skilled, reliable labor necessary for efficient utility-scale solar construction.
The paper details key findings from interviews with developers and EPC contractors, who are overwhelmingly positive about the NTTSA’s provisions and the tangible on-site benefits they deliver.
Key Findings: Five Pillars of the NTTSA Advantage
According to the paper’s findings, the NTTSA addresses the industry’s most critical pain points—labor scarcity, financial compliance, and local support—through five compelling mechanisms:
Community support for renewable energy projects can be a major catalyst to project implementation.
- Fostering Local Support: Developers leverage their NTTSA commitment to tap into the unions’ community and political support, helping projects secure approvals. Unions have been instrumental in intervening at public hearings, coordinating testimony, and organizing outreach to elected officials.
- Accelerated Timelines: By alleviating workforce friction and securing community support through union involvement, the NTTSA helps projects progress more quickly, reducing the risk of delays.
The construction industry faces historically tight labor markets, a problem intensified by the sheer volume and scale of new solar projects.
- Expanded Labor Pool: The NTTSA allows companies to draw workers from three major trade unions, significantly expanding the available workforce beyond a single trade, such as electricians. This ensures projects are not delayed by a shortage in one area.
- Local Hiring & Cost Control: Partnerships with local unions facilitate local hiring, which is critical for meeting project permitting requirements (up to 90% local workforce in some states) and reduces unknown costs associated with bringing in non-local workers (e.g., per diem payments).
- Skilled and Experienced Workers: Workers secured through the NTTSA have trained through the best construction trades training programs in the world – union-run registered apprenticeship programs – and they bring their earned skills and professionalism to each project.
The financial incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are meaningful, and the financial risk of non-compliance is the difference between whether a project pencils out or loses money. NTTSA has Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship (PWA) compliance baked in.
- Guaranteed Eligibility: Utilizing the NTTSA guarantees meeting the Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship (PWA) threshold (15%). This assurance protects the full enhanced IRA tax credit bonus.
- Simplified Compliance: Union relationships simplify tracking PWA requirements, making the path easier for accounting teams.
Jurisdictional disputes between trades can stall projects, costing time and money.
- Clear Task Assignment: The NTTSA clearly defines the scope of work for the three trades, eliminating potential conflicts and ambiguity over task responsibility on the jobsite. Contractors report “almost zero jurisdictional work disputes”.
- Managerial Focus: The clarity and resulting stability allow project managers to focus on the work itself rather than being disrupted by grievances and disputes.
The NTTSA is designed to be accessible and non-binding for companies new to union partnerships.
- Easy to Sign: The Agreement provides for a single application with the three trades simultaneously, eliminating the need to negotiate separately with individual trades.
- Project-Specific Commitment: The agreement is short-term and specific to solar projects, which is a major draw for contractors wary of signing long-term master agreements. This flexibility allows contractors a low-risk way to experiment with the NTTSA and see how it streamlines their projects.
What Developers Are Saying
Developers look for proximity to transmission infrastructure and supportive local landowners, but community acceptance is now the most critical factor for project success. Local union members are the most trusted messengers. Having workers testify at public hearings demonstrates to commissioners that there is ample local support for the project and the jobs created.”
Adam Sokolski
Developer (EDF)
The NTTSA helps limit your disputes on the project, limiting downtime, and delivering an excellent product by using union labor in a thought-out and agreed-upon fashion.
Rob Rieke
EPC Contractor (Zeller Electric)
There’s a lot of risk there, given all the subsidies that are tied to this. The NTTSA virtually guarantees that you will meet the apprenticeship and IRA requirements. The developer loves it.”
Gabe LeFavre
EPC Contractor (Cupertino Electric)
NTTSA Simplifies Development
The collaboration enabled by the NTTSA ensures experienced, well-organized workers are involved in a project’s development from permitting to completion, driving projects to the finish line quickly. For developers and contractors, it provides a quick, simple, and flexible way to secure the labor, compliance, and community backing necessary to successfully develop utility-scale solar projects.