Utility-scale solar farms seem like a perfect target for automation. The work is large in scale, labor-intensive, and often repetitive. From the outside, it’s easy to imagine a robotic arm mounted on an all-terrain chassis, installing panels day and night, dramatically reducing labor needs. Yet despite years of attempts and significant investment, very few automation startups have made it past the pilot phase and into regular use on active construction sites.
It can be tempting to assume the construction industry is simply slow to adopt new technology, or is ill equipped to understand new opportunities, but there is a deeper reason: most tech solutions are designed without a true understanding of how large-scale solar construction actually works, and what they really value in technology. Fundamentally, successful construction companies favor logistical efficiencies over all else, and any technology that is inefficient, unreliable, or needlessly disruptive will not be valuable to the construction industry.
The goal of avoiding inefficiencies should hopefully be obvious to any business, but commitment to that goal varies between industries. The technology industry especially, and Silicon Valley in particular, have pushed the idea that a company should primarily identify growth opportunities and build new and exciting products. Inefficiencies are treated as secondary concerns, issues that can be fixed once a company has scaled up. But to construction companies, inefficiencies are everything. If we imagine a competitive solar project, where margins are tight, and labor rates, equipment rentals, and material costs are roughly the same across contractors, the only real competitive advantage a company has comes from the more efficient allocation of those fixed costs and resources. Any product that can improve labor productivity or material distribution will quickly be copied across the industry, bringing all industry players back to a roughly even playing field. The primary differentiator is not the technology, but the process, and any successful technology should strive to fit into the existing process as seamlessly as possible.
Integration, however, is often not the primary goal of most recent startups in the space. Instead, many tech companies have identified automation as the goal. Startups, especially those trying to capitalize on interest in AI, fixate on the idea of eliminating human labor entirely. While labor availability is indeed a key constraint, the more realistic and effective goal is enhancement rather than replacement. Hybrid systems that keep a human in the loop can leverage human reasoning, adaptability, and situational awareness while using automation to boost productivity and reliability. Not to mention avoiding the regulatory and safety concerns that come with un-monitored autonomous equipment. A fully autonomous system may look impressive in a demo, but on a live jobsite, integration is often easier and faster when humans guide or supervise the technology.
In addition to solving integration concerns and making labor more productive, technology companies can also face difficulties actually demonstrating their product. As described above, construction companies will prioritize efficiency on the jobsite, and are often weary of making exceptions for demonstrations and pilot programs. For an initial demonstration, a group of superintendents, foremen, and operators may be brought in, representing a significant time commitment from the construction team. Any delay or technical hurdle while on the jobsite is unlikely to be forgiven unless expectations are set appropriately far in advance. Additionally, the owners of a project, the utility or operating company, may also be weary of a demonstration, both because of untested technology operating around their investment, and because of third-party companies visiting their property. Navigating these issues of expectations, property rights, and liability requires active communication, and can serve as an unexpected barrier for companies just trying to demonstrate their product. Preparing and understanding ahead of time the large resource commitment a demonstration represents can better prepare technology companies as they attempt to market and validate their products.
Pilot programs can represent even higher pressures and burdens to construction companies than simple demonstration. Operators and laborers in the field, the people who will actually be interacting with and running equipment, face expectations to meet KPIs. So do foremen, superintendents, PEs and PMs. Unless the expectations of a pilot program are communicated to all relevant parties within an organization in advance, it can be easy for those working and overseeing a jobsite to abandon a new technology the moment it fails to deliver. The alternative is delays to the entire project which everyone wants to avoid. Not many construction companies have sandboxes where they can test out and refine a new tool or process, so pilot programs often happen on active jobsites with the expectation that they are using a finished and reliable product. For technology companies hoping to use a pilot program to test and refine their technology, these expectations can be frustrating. Here again, communication is essential so both technology companies and construction companies understand each other’s goals.
Fundamentally, solar construction companies do need to change. Utility scale solar demand continues to grow year over year, while the labor pool remains stagnant or is shrinking. The most obvious efficiency gains have already been found, and for growth to be maintained new technologies will need to enter the space. But construction companies are not going to disrupt their existing success by gambling on unproven and ill-fitting sales pitches. The biggest and most capable construction companies are going to continue prioritizing their logistical efficiencies above all else. The opportunity for technology companies is massive, but the companies that will succeed won’t be the ones with the most advanced robots or the flashiest demos. They will be the ones that understand the needs of the construction industry as deeply as they understand their own technology. If your company is looking to fill in that gap in your knowledge of the solar construction industry, Dorn Solar Consulting is here to help.