Robots have helped to complete solar panel installation ahead of schedule at the Goorambat East Solar Farm near Benalla.

US robotics company Luminous was selected to receive $4.9 million in funding as the first recipient of ARENA’s $100 million Solar ScaleUp Challenge, which sought to supercharge innovation and crowdsource ideas from around the world on how to reduce the cost of large-scale solar.

Luminous’ project aimed to introduce and demonstrate their LUMI robot, an AI-powered pick and place technology designed to streamline utility scale solar construction.

The LUMI robots autonomously place solar modules onto racking structures, allowing onsite workers to complete the final securing process, reducing manual labour and improving installation speed, safety and cost-efficiency.

ENGIE’s site representative, Justin Webb, said he was really pleased by the innovation and forward thinking shown by contractors Bouygues Construction Australia and Equans Solar & Storage Australia during the construction of the Goorambat East Solar Farm.

“This has included testing three robotic systems to install pilings and more recently solar panels, with American company Luminous testing their LUMI system outside of the US for the first time and demonstrating the future of solar farm construction," Mr Webb said.

“The intended higher productivity of these autonomous systems will reduce the cost of renewable energy projects and enable projects to be built in less time - which will bring down energy costs for consumers and potentially allow more solar farms to be built.

"These robots also required skilled technicians to operate them, thus upskilling the current renewable energy workforce and enabling more productivity.

"The use of autonomous robots could also have large benefits for the construction of solar farms in remote and inhospitable areas, such as is deserts, where the climate could be dangerous for human staff.

"In the longer term, with continued development, robots like these will also enable a reduction in health and safety related risks from construction projects, for example reducing the manual handling of heavy solar panels."

Mr Webb said construction of the solar farm was ahead of schedule with installation of all solar panels completed last week.

He said commissioning has commenced, and first energisation of the Goorambat East Solar Farm expected by end of October, with full energisation well on target for mid-2026.

“It will have a generating capacity of up to 250 megawatts (MW), which is enough to power up to 105,000 average Victorian homes,” Mr Webb said.