BRITTMORE GROUP LLC — Department of Energy SBIR Phase I: In order to achieve cost reduction of PV balance of systems, manufacturers and installers

BRITTMORE GROUP LLC — SBIR Phase I award from Department of Energy.

Amount
$150,000
Agency
Department of Energy
Program / Phase
SBIR · Phase I
Solicitation
DE-FOA-0000715
NAICS
Place of performance
CA
Period
2012-11-15

Description

In order to achieve cost reduction of PV balance of systems, manufacturers and installers are moving to large ( & gt; 65kg) panel assemblies. Installation is difficult and time consuming requiring back breaking manual labor or heavy construction equipment. This situation has created a roadblock to the further reduction of installation costs. Brittmore Group has developed an automated large panel assembly installation method. The method uses robots to handle and install panel assemblies safely, and at a rate almost 20 times faster than current methods. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits The Brittmore method eliminates risks associated with the installation of large solar panels. The method essentially eliminates installation labor cost and radically hastens revenue generation of a project. For a 200 MW project the installation savings is ~$4M, and the rapid completion of the project enables up to $40M of additional revenue.