Fully-Automated PV Array Assembly System

Solar Photovoltaics is the fastest growing source of electric power. While overall solar array costs have fallen dramatically year after year helping drive solar growth to date, "Installation Costs" have grown as a percentage of total costs, with solar soft costs now over 40% in even the utility-scale market. Further, the Net Zero Energy Buildings market is unable to utilize the most cost-effective 1-axis tracking solar systems, and there are inherent weight and size limitations on solar panels and racking due to the current installation methods. An automated solar array assembly system capable of installing at least 1 mega-watt of array in a single day directly from component parts in shipping containers will be built. This integrated solar automated installation system will significantly accelerate solar deployment at lower costs due to far higher worker productivity, and will exceed the Department of Energy SunShot 2030 goals. In Phase I core elements of this automated system will be constructed and demonstrated. Included are automated systems for solar panel placement, new solar structural support systems for automated assembly, and new ways of delivering completed array sections to installed posts. Phase I will end the year with the automated assembly system being used for an actual customer solar installation. In Phase II, all automation aspects of the project will be completed to fully assemble solar arrays directly from shipping containers.The output rate will also be increased from 1 mega-watt/day to 2 mega-watts/day per system. Tracking solar collectors yield the highest power output per solar panel, but tracking to date always requires using extra land to avoid row-to-row shading. New ways to wire the panels themselves and the rows/columns of a solar array have been devised to eliminate the power degradation from row-to-row shading to significantly increase overall array output. This solar tracking breakthrough will be tested in Phase I and advanced to market in Phase II and III.