This US company has a robotic solution for solar panel construction

The system has many advantages such as improving workers’ safety by reducing mishaps and injuries on the field, performing in challenging environmental and climatic conditions, and reducing human errors.

Promoting access to solar energy, the project is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy which awarded the company $1.9 million in funding. Sarcos completed the project in collaboration with Mortenson, JLG Industries, Array Technologies, and Pratt Miller.

It is expected that the company will commercialize its product by the year 2024.

Conquering an industrial hiccup

The U.S. government wishes that by 2030, 30 percent of the country’s electricity generation would be solar-powered, according to Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the national trade association for the U.S. solar industry. Currently, the figure stands at 3.5 percent. The association has claimed that in order to achieve this ambitious target, there needs to be an addition of 900,000 workers to the workforce.

Talking about the unprecedented labor shortage and increase in demand faced by the solar construction industry today, Trent Mostaert, vice president at Mortenson said, “We believe the O-AMPP system can address these challenges while improving safety, productivity, and efficiency for our workers.”

Given these limitations, robot-based technologies could just be the solution to increasing solar power output. And the solar field construction market constitutes a massive market for robotic technology.

Mostaert added, “It will also enable solar project developers to scale output and production to the levels needed to achieve the Energy Department’s 2030 and 2050 renewable energy goals. We are excited about the possibilities and potential impact of the O-AMPP system in solar construction.”