The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has committed over $3.2 million in funding to two solar projects to help achieve ARENA’s vision of ultra-low-cost solar.

PV Lighthouse will receive $1.3 million towards its autonomous piling robots project, unlocking more than $6.5 million in total investment across both projects.

ARENA chief executive Darren Miller says both projects will help improve solar technology, making it more efficient and quicker to deploy, helping realise Australia’s renewable energy future sooner.

“These are groundbreaking projects using cutting-edge technology to enhance Australia’s solar manufacturing and energy generation,” he says.

“Ultra-low-cost solar is Australia’s key to achieving the renewable energy transition and reaching our net zero goals. Automation and efficiency are both leading tools in driving down costs. Both projects are exploring innovative approaches to doing just this.”

PV Lighthouse’s project will improve the existing SunSolve software to increase the accuracy of power output forecasts and reduce uncertainty and risk during planning and development. These improvements are critical to help emerging technologies secure project investment, which supports ARENA’s ultra-low-cost solar vision.

Built Robotics’ project, an Australian first, will automate the pile driving processes associated with constructing utility-scale solar farms. Current methods are labour and time-intensive. The design and piloting of first and second-generation prototype robots can potentially reduce piling time and labour costs by approximately 82% and 88% respectively, increasing installation efficiency and safety.

ARENA is looking to reduce the installed cost of a solar project to just 30c per watt and reach a levelised cost of electricity below $20 per megawatt hour by 2030. This could help unlock a total installed capacity of 1TW of solar PV by 2050.