The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) will provide over $1.3 million in funding to Built Robotics‘ autonomous piling robots project, which will automate the pile driving processes associated with constructing utility-scale solar farms.
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The design and piloting of first and second-generation prototype robots has the potential to reduce piling time and labour costs by approximately 82% and 88% respectively, increasing installation efficiency and safety.
“Australia is a technology hub for renewable energy, and Built Robotics is honoured to be working with ARENA to continue inventing better ways of building solar farms,” Built Robotics general manager and VP of business development Paul Kelly said.
“By helping to automate the most repetitive and difficult tasks on jobsites, Built’s robots aim to lower the cost of energy, accelerate construction and provide safer working conditions for skilled workers.”
ARENA is looking to reduce the installed cost of a solar project to just 30c per watt and reach a levelised cost of electricity below $20/MWh by 2030. This could help unlock a total installed capacity of 1TW of solar PV by 2050.
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The Built Robotics project is an example of the innovative ideas that ARENA expects to support through its $100 million Solar ScaleUp Challenge.
