Complete civil packages for utility solar in Henry County, Virginia: 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 Henry County, Virginia. We contract the complete civil package under one agreement, with Backwell superintendents and lead operators on site.
Henry County is part of the Dominion 764 MW approval through Michaux Solar, a 50 MW facility that spans parts of Henry and Pittsylvania counties. Cross county projects like this require coordination with two separate local land disturbance authorities, which raises the value of a contractor who handles permitting logistics. Henry has adopted a solar land cap similar to neighboring counties, so the near term pipeline is what is already entitled. Note that the City of Martinsville is an independent city inside the county boundary and is not part of Henry County for permitting purposes.
Publicly reported utility-scale solar in and around Henry 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.
Henry County is the steepest of the Southside Piedmont counties, sitting on the foothills where the Piedmont upland rises toward the Blue Ridge escarpment, with narrow winding ridges, short steep side slopes, and deeply incised streams. The Smith River runs through the middle of the county from Philpott Dam past Bassett and Martinsville, and the discharge below the dam is cold water, which makes downstream sediment and temperature effects a genuine permitting issue rather than a formality. Uplands are Cecil and Pacolet type red clayey residuum weathered from mica gneiss and schist, with thin surface horizons on the steep faces where erosion has already stripped topsoil and micaceous saprolite is close to the surface. Usable flat ground is limited to ridge crests and the narrow Smith River terraces.
Cut and fill balance is the whole job here, and on the steeper parcels benching, keyed fills, and retained slopes are unavoidable rather than optional. Grubbing on side slopes exposes saprolite that sheet erodes immediately, so temporary slope drains, benched diversions, and fast permanent cover matter more than basin capacity alone. Access roads need real geometry work: switchbacks, cross drains at close spacing, and stone thickness sized for loaded module and pile trucks on grade. Trenching across the schist ridges hits refusal shallow, so allow for rock trenching or hammer work in the collection runs rather than assuming a plow or chain trencher will make production.
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. Virginia requires a contractor license issued by the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), Board for Contractors. The relevant tier for utility scale solar civil work is the Class A contractor license, which carries no monetary limit on individual project size or annual revenue. The relevant classification for site work, earthwork, and road work is Highway / Heavy (H/H); the qualified individual sits for a trade exam tied to VDOT specifications. Class A applicants must show net worth of $45,000 or post a $50,000 surety bond, and each classification or specialty held requires its own qualified individual with documented experience. Source read: https://virginiacontractorauthority.com/virginia-contractor-license-types and https://www.kmlawyers.com/virginia-dpor-licensing-requirements-for-construction-contractors/
Construction stormwater. The General Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) Permit for Discharges of Stormwater from Construction Activities, commonly called the Construction General Permit or CGP, codified at 9VAC25-880. It is issued by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) under the State Water Control Board, and is administered locally through Virginia Stormwater Management Program (VSMP) authorities. The current reissuance runs July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2029 and applies to land disturbing activities of one acre or more. Sources read: https://www.deq.virginia.gov/water/stormwater/stormwater-construction and https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title9/agency25/chapter880/section70/ 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 wage and apprenticeship requirements apply through the Inflation Reduction Act to qualifying facilities of 1 MW or greater that claim the full investment or production tax credit, so certified payroll is the practical default on Virginia utility scale solar regardless of state law. On top of that, Virginia has its own prevailing wage statute at Code of Virginia section 2.2-4321.3, sometimes called the Little Davis-Bacon Act, administered by the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI). The state statute reaches public works contracts of $250,000 or more that are paid in whole or in part with state funds, or contracts with a locality that has adopted a prevailing wage ordinance. Privately owned utility scale solar is generally not a public works contract, so the state statute usually does not attach and the federal IRA requirement is the governing one. Sources read: https://doli.virginia.gov/programs/labor-law/prevailing-wage-law/ and https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title2.2/chapter43/section2.2-4321.3/ 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 Virginia 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.
Reply in hours, not days.