The Types of Drawings Used on Utility-Scale Solar Sites

On every jobsite, clear communication through construction drawings forms the foundation of successful project execution. Utility-scale solar is no exception. In fact, the sheer scale of these projects, combined with the numerous entities involved, adds significant complexity to the process.

In this excerpt from the Understanding Utility-Scale Solar Construction Drawings course, HeatSpring instructor Andy Nyce explores the essential drawing types you’ll encounter in solar plan sets—from civil and electrical to structural, racking, SCADA, and high voltage packages. This breakdown helps demystify how these various technical documents work together to create a comprehensive blueprint for solar farm construction. Whether you’re brand new to the industry or a professional looking to strengthen your technical knowledge, understanding these drawings is crucial for reducing costly errors and improving team efficiency. 

Let’s dive in!

Transcript below.

 Let’s dig a little deeper into the various types of drawings that we can expect to see on a utility-scale solar site.

These are the common drawings that you can expect to find, but it can certainly expand from here in certain circumstances. 

There’s the civil set. Which will usually include site preparation and details around a stormwater management plan. 

There’s obviously an electrical set, which will include information about both the DC and the AC side of the plant, and generally ceases at the end of the MVAC (medium voltage AC) run that goes to the point of interconnection.

We then have the structural set, which has details regarding post embedment, along with any foundation work required for things like equipment pads. 

Then, there’s the racking drawings sometimes also referred as the mechanical set, which is oftentimes provided by the racking manufacturer and details specifics, like post-to-post distances, which torque tubes go where, and other racking-specific information.

Finally, there’s usually a SCADA or communications drawing, which has all the information about the various data collection systems on the plant. 

If there’s a substation and switch out at the site, then there’ll be a high voltage package, specifically for that team as well.

 One really important point that I want you to keep in mind…

The various different drawings, installation manuals, and specifications within a complete set of construction documents are almost always produced by a variety of different entities.

The engineering and technical team for the project should be ensuring that all of these different sets match up and there isn’t any conflicting information between the information. Invariably, things slip through the cracks and the field teams end up with documentation that might contradict itself in some way.

There are well-established processes in the construction industry on how to deal with these situations. The most important thing is to catch it as early as possible and ask for clarification as soon as you notice the discrepancy. 
To learn more and get your team on the same page, sign up for the Understanding Utility-Scale Solar Construction Drawings course!