In this edition of New Energy Expert Insights, we sat down with Alan Fenelon, Chief Executive Officer of Solar Energy Robotics, to discuss the automation of solar installation and maintenance.
Solar Energy Robotics
Solar Energy Robotics (SER) is an Australian company delivering advanced robotic solutions for the solar energy sector. SER designs and manufactures specialist robotic systems in-house where unique local needs demand innovation. SER is also the Australian partner for Sunpure Technology, a partnership focused on introducing and supporting utility scale install and cleaning solutions to Australia.
This dual capability makes SER unique in Australia – able to innovate locally, leverage global best-in-class systems, and deliver end-to-end robotic solutions that give utility-scale solar projects a decisive competitive edge.
Alan Fenelon is the Chief Executive Officer at SER. He brings more than twenty-five years of experience in mining technology and renewable energy.
What are you seeing in the Australian solar robotic market?
Australia’s solar robotic market is nascent. There are no existing solar farms in Australia that currently use robotic cleaning. In part, this is due to an underappreciation of the impact of soiling on projects. Unlike their international counterparts, most Australian developers do not collect data on soiling. As a result, Australian developers do not fully understand the impact of soiling on operational efficiency and so do not consider incorporating robotic technology into the project during the planning phase. More simply put, nobody requests autonomous cleaners to be ‘designed in’, therefore they never are. And a retrofit is always a compromise.
- “I think the big variable in there is that no one is really looking at soiling data”
SER endeavours to target this persistent gap in Australia’s market by introducing a localised and fit for purpose robotic solution. The technology itself is highly mature and reliable, and robotic solar cleaning solutions have been available globally for nearly a decade. From a hardware and software standpoint, these systems are scalable, cost effective and field proven. The real issue with maturity lies within the Australian market. The barrier isn’t technological; the barrier lies in the lack of consideration given to integrating automation during the design and development phases of solar projects.
SER is actively working to shift this mindset, advocating for cleaning systems to be considered in the project planning phase.
What role do you see solar energy robotics playing in shaping Australia’s solar robotic market?
SER has two strands of business. On the one hand it develops and manufactures solutions end to end that target specific operational gaps in the local market where competition is scarce. On the other hand, SER partners with market leaders Sunpure Technology for the volume-based utility scale solar energy market.
All SER’s range of autonomous cleaners offered are waterless and self-sufficient. They are designed to be permanently installed on site in most cases. In its own product suite, SER adopts the concept of a literal and metaphorical ‘chassis’, one that is configured to various use cases without having to redesign anything from scratch. It makes for more effective client support too.
Due to its relationship with Sunpure Technology, SER is now placed to also offer module installation robots as a wet rental and or outright purchase. Automation of this task has the ability to reduce over half of the investment and duration associated with module installs. It’s also more accurate and much safer because there is almost zero manual handling.
Why would a developer use a robot over a human?
Robots provide logistical and financial benefits to developers.
From an operations and maintenance (O&M) and Life of Farm perspective, robotic cleaners boost performance and daily yield by ensuring soiling does not occur on solar panels. Soiling is the accumulation of particles and debris on the surface of solar panels, which reduces the energy production of the panels. By installing robotics into a project (a one-off installation), the developer avoids the ongoing complexities of traditional labour (for example, workplace health and safety risks and training requirements). Further, as robotics technology can be designed into a project during the planning phase, developers have a unique opportunity to better design solar farms to maximise operational efficiency in ways not possible with human labour forces.
Financially, robotic cleaning significantly reduces labour dependency and capital costs, providing developers with an accurate, upfront investment that leads to long-term savings across the entire operation and maintenance of a project. For example, individual robots can clean semi uninterrupted solar rows up to 2 kilometres, offering a level of efficiency unmatched by traditional labour.
How do you anticipate the role of human workers changing as automation becomes more prevalent in the solar industry?
Although automation will impact certain workforces, it will also encourage skills to be reallocated across the new energy industry. In the specific case of solar cleaning and installation, there is already a shortage of labour, and so the impact is fairly localised. However, when automation moves beyond solar cleaning into broader operations and maintenance activities (where there is a larger workforce), the impact will be more noticeable. The answer may be to transition that workforce into new roles focused on managing, maintaining, and optimising robotic systems.
Are there any technical limitations or challenges that automated systems face in solar maintenance, and how are these being addressed?
The biggest limitation for robotic cleaning solutions is deployment onto already designed and operating solar farms. Retrofitting automation into existing layouts, especially when those layouts have not been designed with robotics in mind, is technically nuanced, costly and compromise heavy.
In design stages, there are virtually no limitations on implementation. It simply requires intentional design choices to accommodate robotic technology. A sympathetic design sees longer, less interrupted arrays. Footprint permitting, it might be as simple as relocating inverters and some services to achieve this. When ‘designed in’ the cost tends to be less than 1% of the capital cost of the project overall. The client has a zero impact, technology solution for the least investment.
They achieve Every Panel Every Day (EPED) cleaning with zero associated effort and thus derisk the Life of Farm in soiling terms; achieving a highly predictable 0.5% soiling loss versus the anomalous and much higher losses when it’s left to nature and some intermittent cleaning.
In reflecting the 0.5%, highly predictable and de-risked soiling losses, the even more obvious upside is that the optimised farm does not have to be as large. Think of the ~20% reduction of savings achieved if you could deliver the same, consistent energy from a smaller footprint. Less trackers, less panels, fewer inverters, shorter projects with fewer people and less real estate.
The future
What are the most promising technological advancements in the automation of solar panel maintenance?
The most promising technological advancements are developing a robotic system that can, while carrying out cleaning, monitor the condition of the installed solar panels. There is a clear synergy in condition monitoring while solar panels are being cleaned and maintained. The next step in the industry is to combine the benefits of solar cleaning with continuous, ongoing solar monitoring.
What excites you most about the future of solar and automation?
The most exciting part about the future of solar and automation is the huge potential for innovation. The benefit of having no active installations in Australia is that every installation is a step into the future. The sheer number of potential installations leaves an enticing space for the deployment of new robotics technology.
Other than that, the future hopefully holds increased installations of solar robotic cleaners, which ultimately boosts Australia into a cleaner, more sustainable and more efficient future.