Wednesday, September 23, 2026
An electric, autonomous robot that inspects the panels of utility-scale solar farms will make its debut in Australia as part of an Arena-backed initiative that will test and deploy new technologies across a range of projects, in the ongoing quest to unlock ultra-low cost solar.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) announced on Wednesday that it has awarded $25 million in funding to Equans Solar & Storage for a three-year trial called the Lightspeed project, that will test a series of innovations across Equans’ solar and storage pipeline.
Arena says the Lightspeed project aims to test and deploy up to 10 innovative technologies across five key areas – civil works, mechanical works, electrical works, operations and maintenance, and digital coordination – that could collectively reduce the levelised cost of energy from solar.
Solar PV is already the cheapest way to generate power, but Arena’s 30-30-30 vision aims to achieve 30 per cent PV module efficiency and 30 cents per watt (W) installed cost by 2030, and solar electricity below $20 per megawatt-hour.
The first technology to be put to the test in this particular project will be the Nextpower Ranger, a new addition to what is a growing pool of autonomous solar farm inspection robots, in this case produced by California-based PV tracking giant Nextpower.
According to the company’s website, the NX Ranger – as it is also known – is an autonomous robotic inspection system that performs a row-by-row inspection of the underside of solar modules, using advanced AI and dual thermal-optical cameras to “find and flag” issues.
“Its rugged design and 4WD mobility tackle remote terrain, while onboard edge AI delivers instant results – no waiting, no uploads, no guesswork,” the website says.
The trial is not the first use of a robot to inspect solar panels – the CSIRO is trialling its own version of the technology – a robot called “Bear” – and comparing the results with human assessments.
But it does mark the NX Ranger’s first use at an Australian solar farm, which will be used to help demonstrate its benefits to build market confidence.
Alongside solar inspection robots, the Lightspeed project will also test technologies like construction robots and automated piling systems, that have similar potential to reduce labour-intensive activities, improve construction efficiency, increase productivity, and enhance project delivery.
“By supporting the trial of multiple innovation projects under a single funding portfolio we can test technologies more quickly in real-world environments and at a greater scale,” said Arena CEO Darren Miller in a statement on Wednesday.
“This approach allows promising innovations to move from concept to real-world deployment faster, while ensuring lessons learned can be shared across the industry.”
Indeed, Arena has taken a similar approach with Fortescue, granting the mining giant $45 million to help establish a test bed for up to 10 technologies across its gigawatt-scale Pilbara solar portfolio – a key part of its pursuit of achieving “real zero” emissions at the giant mines by 2030.
That collaboration has already produced its first milestone report and a dedicated Built Robotics trial report, sharing insights from the trial of autonomous piling technology at the Cloudbreak Solar Farm in remote Pilbara conditions.
Arena says the new collaboration with Equans will build on this model, creating further opportunities to test, validate and share learnings from emerging technologies that can improve how large-scale solar projects are designed, built and operated.
“Lightspeed Solar project … supported by ARENA is a tremendous opportunity to pioneer in emerging technologies for site constructions and operations, as well as scaling up the use of automated machines and systems,” Equans innovation and development director, Benoit Froidurot, said this week.
“Facing the volume of renewable assets to be built in a near future, following the cost reduction trends and considering grid integration restrictions of solar energy, robotics supported by digital and IA will definitively contribute to achieve these goals,” Froidurot said.
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Sophie is editor of Renew Economy and editor of its sister site, One Step Off The Grid . She is the co-host of the Solar Insiders Podcast. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.
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