Boundary and topographic survey, slope, drainage and LiDAR terrain, measured before civil design instead of estimated from imagery.
On a ground-mount or utility-scale project, terrain is not background detail. Slope informs tracker row geometry and grading decisions. Drainage drives earthwork. A boundary that turns out to sit four feet from where the design assumed drives a redesign. These are the line items that move after financial close, and they move because the ground was estimated.
Measured elevation informs row layout and grading. Pile depth and refusal risk also need geotechnical investigation; a topographic survey does not establish subsurface conditions.
Where water goes decides how much dirt moves. Earthwork is one of the largest swing items on a ground-mount budget.
Setbacks are measured from a legal boundary, not an approximate one. Easements and encroachments located late are a redesign, not a note.
Land surveying sits at the front of a ground-mount or utility-scale project, before civil design. It pairs with the construction monitoring and inspection work described on the utility-scale page, so the same site is measured before the build, during it, and after energisation against one standard.
For rooftop work the equivalent front-end capture is the site survey.
Start with the decision the survey needs to support. A parcel map, terrain surface and title survey answer different questions; agree on the required work before capture.
Establish the parcel boundary from records and field evidence. Locate relevant improvements and easements within the agreed scope so the project team can evaluate the usable footprint.
Define the contour interval, terrain detail, coordinate system and elevation datum with the civil team. Tie slope, drainage features and access areas to a consistent survey reference. Explore LiDAR topography for solar sites.
If a lender or title insurer requests an ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey, confirm the applicable standard and optional Table A items with the surveyor. Treat it as an explicit scope requirement rather than assuming it is included in terrain mapping.
Scope references: ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey Standards and solar site evaluation training. The project team and surveyor should confirm the requirements for the specific transaction.
Give the field team and civil designer the same starting brief. A clear scope helps keep the survey useful as the layout develops.
The agreed scope can include parcel boundaries, easements, existing improvements, topographic contours, slope, drainage features, access routes and an orthomosaic. Define the survey limits and deliverable requirements before fieldwork; boundary, terrain and title work serve different purposes.
Scope the survey before civil design so the layout uses measured boundaries and terrain. Confirm the design team’s coordinate system, elevation datum, contour interval and file formats before capture.
Aerial capture can support terrain mapping and show visible features. It does not, on its own, establish a legal parcel boundary or resolve recorded easements. Boundary work needs the relevant records and field evidence interpreted by a qualified land surveyor.
No. A topographic survey maps elevations and features for design. An ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey addresses a defined land title survey scope. Confirm with the lender, title insurer and surveyor whether it is required and agree on the applicable standard and optional Table A items before ordering.
Share the parcel location, approximate acreage, proposed project footprint, available boundary and title documents, site access constraints and the intended design stage. Include the civil team’s requirements for terrain detail, coordinate reference, file formats and any additional survey scope.
In-person site surveys, engineering and inspection for residential, C&I and utility-scale solar, delivered as live data.