Complete civil packages for utility solar across Louisiana: 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 Louisiana. 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.
Louisiana utility solar activity in the 2026 to 2028 window is driven almost entirely by Entergy Louisiana and by load growth from Meta's data center campus in Richland Parish. The Louisiana Public Service Commission authorized Entergy Louisiana to procure up to 1,500 megawatts of solar through an expedited certification process tied to that data center, on top of an existing owned and contracted solar pipeline. Entergy's own renewable portfolio sheet dated July 2026 lists Louisiana solar projects targeting 2026, 2027 and 2028 commercial operation in Iberville, Washington, Evangeline, Morehouse, Ouachita and Pointe Coupee parishes. Separately, Meta contracted 385 megawatts across two Treaty Oak solar projects in Sabine and Morehouse parishes to serve the same load. The practical effect for a civil contractor is that the work clusters in two bands: the northeast Louisiana delta parishes around Richland and Morehouse, and the lower Mississippi River and Florida Parishes corridor from Iberville and Pointe Coupee east to Washington Parish.
Solar EPCs and developers usually search by the parish or the nearest town to the site. These are the Louisiana 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. Louisiana requires a state commercial contractor license issued by the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors (LSLBC) for commercial projects valued at $50,000 or more including labor and materials, per the LSLBC types of licenses page. LSLBC issues licenses by classification, and solar civil sitework is normally performed under the heavy construction and highway, street and bridge construction classifications, with municipal and public works construction used for publicly bid utility work. The exact classification for a given scope should be confirmed with LSLBC before bidding, because Louisiana enforces classification scope, not just the license itself. Out of state contractors qualify through the same LSLBC process and must be registered with the Louisiana Secretary of State.
Construction stormwater. Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (LPDES) storm water general permit for construction activity, administered by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ). Utility solar sites fall under the large construction general permit, LPDES Permit No. LAR100000, which covers construction disturbing five acres or more; the small construction general permit LAR200000 covers one acre up to five acres. Coverage is obtained by filing a Notice of Intent (form CSW-G) with LDEQ before construction begins, and a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan must be prepared and kept current. Coverage under LAR100000 is not transferable between operators. Backwell carries the SWPPP scope, installs and maintains the controls, keeps the inspection log, and closes the permit out with final stabilization.
Prevailing wage. The governing wage requirement on Louisiana utility solar is federal, not state. Projects above 1 MW that claim the increased Inflation Reduction Act investment or production tax credit must pay Davis-Bacon prevailing wages to all laborers and mechanics of the taxpayer, contractors and subcontractors for construction, alteration or repair, and must meet the registered apprenticeship labor hour requirement. Louisiana has no state prevailing wage statute layered on top of that for private construction, so there is no state schedule to track the way there is in New York or Illinois. Certified payroll on these jobs is therefore driven by the IRA credit requirements and by the EPC's contract terms, and any federally funded or federally assisted work carries Davis-Bacon on its own footing. 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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