Meet solar's newest sidekick: Maximo the robot

America needs more energy sources and we need them now—especially as new AI data centers that use massive amounts of energy are popping up across the country. While solar farms are being built nationwide to help meet rising energy demands, humans can’t build energy production facilities fast enough.

That's a job for Maximo: an AI-powered robot proving to be an MVP to solar construction crews.

Maximo—nicknamed Max—was created to do all the heavy lifting of building a solar farm. We mean that literally: Max moves and installs solar modules that are 6.5 x 3.25 feet long and weigh over 60 pounds. The solar-friendly robot was created by global energy company AES, which developed the smart technology for Maximo in partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Max was developed to increase the speed, safety, and cost efficiency of solar farm construction. The robot has a long arm that lifts solar panels, so workers don’t have to handle heavy, awkward-shaped modules or work high off the ground. Max also has no issue working in conditions such as high heat or low visibility. Max deploys solar panels “in half the time at half the cost,” according to AES.

How Maximo works

Max moves on its own, using AI features such as computer vision and smart sensors to move and place panels with precision, as well as make decisions based on real-time construction intelligence. Its ultrasonic sensors can also detect human activity and trigger an automatic stop to ensure safety.

Image: AES

The robot has so far already helped build a handful of utility-scale solar farms, but what powers Maximo? According to AES, Max runs on a “mobile microgrid,” using lithium-ion iron phosphate batteries. AC/DC inverters and phase converters are also tapped to run its larger components.

Max is run by a two-person crew—one person drives the operating system and the other monitors the machine while it’s working, and checks its progress as the robot installs each row of panels, according to AES.

Max first put its wheels on the ground at the Oak Ridge Solar Farm in Louisiana, a project backed by Amazon. It’s currently working on another Amazon-supported project called Bellefield—the largest solar-plus-storage project in the U.S. to date.

“AI is a critical tool that is already helping us develop sustainability solutions and address climate change at scale," an Amazon spokesperson told EnergySage. "As society’s energy needs grow, the demand for new solar and wind projects is also increasing, and we’re excited to collaborate with renewable energy developers like AES that are bringing new renewables to the grid, and prioritizing innovative technologies that can help accelerate those efforts.”

AES says that Maximo has already helped install nearly 10 megawatts (MW) of solar power and is projected to install another 100 MW in 2025. The company expects to use Maximo to build up to 5 gigawatts of solar through 2027, according to its website.

Not necessarily— the robot is actually helping the solar job shortage in the long run, according to AES.

The National Solar Jobs Census has reported annually on the shortage of trained, solar workers to meet demand for new installations. In the most recent survey from 2023, 29% of solar firms reported it was “very difficult” to hire qualified workers. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics reports that solar installer employment is projected to grow 48% annually through 2033, with roughly 4,100 job openings per year.

Using Max means less time in the desert heat for work crews and faster delivery of renewable energy, AES says.

 As America’s reliance on renewable forms of energy—and the workers that build those power sources—continues to grow, Max may help fill the void for certain types of jobs as clean energy sources become more widely used across the country.