Complete civil packages for utility solar across Arkansas: clearing, mass grading, access roads, collection trenching, SWPPP, fencing, and substation civil.
Backwell is a civil site work general contractor serving utility solar EPCs building in Arkansas. We contract complete civil packages: clearing, mass grading, access roads, trenching and underground utilities, erosion control and SWPPP, fencing, and substation civil, all under one contract with Backwell field leadership on site.
Arkansas utility-scale solar is concentrated in the Delta and the Arkansas River Valley, and University of Arkansas researchers report that 15 Arkansas counties will host a utility-scale array of 20 MW or larger by 2026, up from 11. Two demand drivers shape the 2026 to 2028 pipeline: Entergy Arkansas resource procurement under its Next Generation Arkansas plan, and large data center load, most visibly Google's West Memphis campus in Crittenden County. The largest single build is the Steel River Energy Center in Mississippi County, which broke ground in July 2026 and is planned to reach roughly 2.5 GWdc of solar with battery storage by 2029. Independent power producers active in the state include Invenergy, NextEra Energy Resources, Cypress Creek Energy, EDP Renewables North America, and Treaty Oak Clean Energy, alongside utility-owned projects developed by Entergy Arkansas. Sites are typically flat row-crop or timber ground with heavy drainage, ditch, and access-road scope, which puts the civil package on the critical path.
Solar EPCs and developers usually search by the county or the nearest town to the site. These are the Arkansas markets we cover:
We price the package as one scope under one contract, so the EPC has a single point of responsibility for the civil critical path instead of managing separate clearing, earthwork, and utility subcontracts.
Backwell superintendents, project managers, and lead operators run every site. We mobilize company equipment for the core scope and scale each project with leased production fleets, qualified regional subcontractors, and agency-placed field staff, all under Backwell supervision and a single contract.
Contractor licensing. Yes. Arkansas licenses commercial construction through the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, which sits under the Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing. A Commercial Contractor license is required to bid or perform commercial work at or above the statutory threshold, generally understood to be 50,000 dollars, with separate classifications that cover heavy construction and highway, street and bridge work, which are the classifications that typically apply to solar civil sitework. Applicants must show construction experience, business capability, and financial statements. Verify the exact classification and threshold with the board at labor.arkansas.gov before bidding.
Construction stormwater. Construction General Permit ARR150000, the NPDES construction stormwater general permit issued by the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment, Division of Environmental Quality, formerly ADEQ. Coverage is required for any land disturbance of one acre or more, and a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan must be developed, implemented, and maintained for the life of construction. A Notice of Intent is filed with DEQ, and large sites of five acres or more require full NOI review rather than automatic coverage. Backwell carries the SWPPP scope, installs and maintains the controls, keeps the inspection log, and closes the permit out with final stabilization.
Prevailing wage. Federal Davis-Bacon prevailing wages apply to utility-scale solar at 1 MW and above through the Inflation Reduction Act wage and apprenticeship requirements, which owners pass down to civil subcontractors through certified payroll obligations. Arkansas has NO state prevailing wage law: Act 1068 of 2017 repealed Ark. Code 22-9-301 through 22-9-315, so state and local public works in Arkansas carry no separate state wage determination. Federally funded work in Arkansas still triggers Davis-Bacon. In practice this means a solar civil contractor in Arkansas needs certified payroll capability for the IRA requirement, not for a state program. For projects claiming the full ITC or PTC, Backwell produces Davis-Bacon certified payroll, pays the applicable wage determination, and supports apprenticeship labor-hour compliance.
Send plans, a scope of work, and the schedule through the form below or call (315) 400-2654. We review the civil package, walk the site if it is at that stage, and return a scoped proposal with a schedule of values, stated fill allowances, and unit rates for overages. A one-page capability statement is available for prequalification files.
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