Complete civil packages for utility solar near Pataskala, OH: clearing, mass grading, access roads, collection trenching, SWPPP, fencing, and substation civil.
Backwell contracts complete civil site work packages for utility solar EPCs building near Pataskala in Licking County, Ohio. One contract covers clearing through final stabilization, with Backwell field leadership on site.
West end of the county on SR 310 with quick I-70 access, immediately adjacent to the New Albany and Johnstown semiconductor construction corridor. That corridor has tightened local aggregate, trucking, and labor availability, which should be priced in.
Publicly reported utility-scale solar in and around Licking County:
Project details come from public filings and reporting and are listed to show where the work is. Backwell is not affiliated with these projects or their developers.
Licking County straddles the Wisconsinan glacial boundary and is effectively two construction environments. West and north of Newark is till plain and ground moraine with Bennington and Cardington silt loams on the uplands, Pewamo and Condit in the depressions, and Glenford and Fitchville on lake laid pockets. East and south is unglaciated Allegheny Plateau with steep dissected slopes on Black Hand Sandstone and interbedded shale, mapped as Coshocton, Westmoreland, Gilpin, Berks, and Rigley, with rock commonly within 2 to 4 feet on the ridge shoulders. The Licking River and its South Fork and Raccoon Creek carry broad glacial outwash terraces through Newark, Heath, and Hebron that hold workable sand and gravel and give the county its aggregate base.
On the till side, Bennington has a dense slowly permeable subsoil that perches water, so subgrade drying is the pacing item and Pewamo depressions usually need undercut and stone replacement before any pad or road goes in. On the plateau side the job changes to rock: access road cuts and collection trench will hit sandstone and shale, so plan for ripping or hammering, benched roads on side slopes, and rock lined outlets. The outwash terraces along the Licking are the exception and give good bearing plus on site or short haul granular borrow, which is worth routing haul roads toward.
Full detail on the Licking County market is on the Licking County solar civil page.
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. Ohio does not issue a statewide general contractor, excavation, or sitework license. The Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board, under the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Industrial Compliance, licenses only five commercial specialty trades: electrical, HVAC, refrigeration, plumbing, and hydronics. Commercial civil sitework, earthwork, and grading require no state trade license, so qualification comes through local registration where a county or municipality requires it, permits, insurance, and owner or EPC prequalification. Contractors bidding state highway work separately need Ohio Department of Transportation prequalification.
Construction stormwater. Ohio EPA NPDES Construction Storm Water General Permit, currently designated OHC000006, issued by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Division of Surface Water. Coverage requires a Notice of Intent and a site specific Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan for earth disturbance of one acre or more, including smaller areas that are part of a larger common plan of development, which covers essentially every utility scale solar site. 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 through the Inflation Reduction Act to projects of 1 MW AC and above that claim the full investment or production tax credit, along with the apprenticeship hour requirements, so nearly every utility scale solar site in Ohio is a certified payroll job. On top of that, Ohio has its own prevailing wage law under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4115, administered by the Ohio Department of Commerce, Bureau of Wage and Hour Administration, but it attaches to public improvements financed with public funds and does not automatically apply to privately financed solar. In practice some Ohio solar applicants have voluntarily committed to prevailing wage or labor agreements as part of their OPSB cases, for example the labor agreement reported in the Sloopy Solar case in Clark County, so bidders should read the certificate conditions and the EPC contract, not assume. 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.
All Ohio solar civil work or the national utility solar civil page.
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.
Plans, scope, and schedule reviewed and answered promptly.
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