More Solar Power, 2X Faster With Maximo Robots

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Despite the sharp U-turn in federal energy policy, the demand for solar power in the US continues apace. Developers have been scrambling after new technologies that cut costs and installation times, and robots are part of the plan. With that in mind, let’s take a look at Maximo, the speedy solar robot that just achieved its first 100-megawatt installation at nearly double the output of traditional methods.

More Robots For More Solar Power

Maximo was developed by the leading US-based diversified energy firm AES. The robot first surfaced on the CleanTechnica radar in August of 2024. “Maximo can install solar panels in half the time and half the cost, working together with on-the-ground crews to accelerate renewable energy deployment, reducing time-to-power for customers,” was the pitch from AES.

The company also noted that having a robot do the heaviest lifting is a worksite safety enhancement. In addition, as climate change raises the temperature on outdoor work, a heat-tolerant robot can help keep the worksite going when things get to hot for humans.

AES also pointed out that the robot can attract more skilled workers to the solar industry. “It accelerates project timelines, creates new high-tech jobs and brings opportunities to new segments of the workforce,” AES emphasized.

“Maximo expands job opportunities in solar installation, while providing individuals the experience to develop AI skills and learn emerging technologies,” the company added for good measure.

Maximo Scales Up, Puts Out

As of August 2024, Maximo had installed about 10 megawatts’ worth of solar power, on track to install 100 megawatts by the end of 2025.

One hundred megawatts is a drop in the bucket by today’s standards. Back in 2024, AES already had a solar backlog of up to 5 gigawatts under its belt and it was anticipating a red-hot, industry-wide installation rate of 50,000 solar modules per hour in the US alone by 2035.

“In response to this exponential growth, we are scaling Maximo, deploying fleets of continually improving robots to empower our teams for faster and more competitive installations,” AES Chief Product Officer Chris Shelton said in a press statement in July of 2024.

AES was not kidding around. Since 2024, Maximo has spun off as a solar robotics company of its own. Earlier today, AES announced that Maximo — the company — successfully installed 100 megawatts of solar capacity at its Bellefield facility in Kern County, California, deploying a coordinated fleet of four Maximo 3.0 robots.

“Today’s 100 MW achievement marks the transition of robotic module installation from early deployment validation to sustained commercial production,” AES emphasized in a press release.

“Reaching 100 megawatts at a single site is an important milestone for Maximo and for the role robotics can play in solar construction,” added Shelton, who now holds the position of President at Maximo.

“As solar deployment continues to accelerate globally, technologies that improve installation speed, quality and reliability will become increasingly important,” Shelton elaborated.

As for whether or not the new Maximo robots achieved the same work in half the time, they came close enough for horseshoes.

“Maximo’s version 3.0 units’ technical performance rate consistently surpassed one module per minute, with crews installing as many as 24 modules per shift hour per person, nearly double the output of traditional installation methods in the region,” AES reported.

“By tightly integrating robotic placement into standard construction workflows alongside skilled union technicians, the fleet delivered a step-change in productivity while maintaining high safety and quality standards,” the company reported, taking note of the contributions of NVIDIA’s contribution to its AI-forward system alongside Amazon Web Services.

More Solar Power For California

AES and Maximo are currently looking ahead to the forthcoming Maximo v. 4.0, so stay tuned for more on that.

Meanwhile, the Bellefield project continues to take shape towards the end goal of adding 1 gigawatt in solar power and 1 gigawatt in battery energy storage to the California grid. As part of the project, a 14-mile transmission line will connect Bellefield to Southern California Edison’s Windhub Substation.

Sitting between California City and Mojave on privately owned land, the Bellefield project is expected to inject $150 million into local coffers while making the case for similar projects elsewhere around the state. “The Bellefield solar + storage project serves as a model for future projects across California, demonstrating how such projects can integrate seamlessly into the local economy while providing affordable clean energy,” AES enthuses.

MAGA Loves Solar, Too

Considering the sharp U-turn in federal energy policy, AES may seem overconfident. However, pressure on the demand side is building by the minute. Despite all the bloviating against renewable energy from uS President Donald Trump and other Republicans in public office, the facts are on the side of solar, storage, and wind for affordability and accessibility over any other form of domestic energy resource available today.

Besides, the TACO effect is beginning to kick in. Earlier this year Trump himself had some nice things to say about solar power, an epic turn of opinion that happened to coincide with Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s plans for growing his solar footprint in the US. As if on cue, former Trump aide and Musk helpmate Katie Miller has also been talking up solar along with another Trump-adjacent figure, the pollster Kellyanne Conway.

In February, Conway’s firm KAConsulting released the results of a pro-solar survey of 1,000 registered voters in the red-voting states of Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Texas. The survey responses showed that “solar energy enjoys broad, durable, and increasingly intense public support,” getting the thumbs-up from 80% of voters surveyed including 75% of Trump voters.

The survey was commissioned by the solar advocacy group American Energy First, of which little information is available except that it holds a fact-based position on solar power. “Nuclear, gas, and coal cannot scale fast enough to meet the current surge in demand. Solar is the essential partner needed to bridge the gap,” the group states, diplomatically refraining from a name-check on solar’s only scalable competitor, the US wind industry.

For the record, AEF describes itself as “a coalition of companies and groups dedicated to supporting the expansion of solar energy production in the United States to promote American economic growth and national security,” not to be confused with the similarly named solar advocacy organization America First Energy Action.

Photo: A new generation of powerful, heat-tolerant robot helpers will enable utility-scale developers to build more solar power plants in the US, more quickly, than ever before (cropped, courtesy of AES via email).