Raptor Maps-2025年太阳能机器人技术状况报告-State of Solar Robotics

StateofSolarRobotics

2025Edition

©2025RaptorMaps.Allrightsreserved.

TableofContents

ResultsbySurveyCategory

RoboticsUsageToday 7

ValueDriversofRobotics 8

Software 10

BarrierstoInvestment 11

AnalysisbyRespondentCategory 12

FutureTrends 13

Introduction3

ANoteFromOurFounders4

KeyFindings5

ResultsbySurveyCategory7

ConclusionsandTakeaways15

SurveyMethodology16

AboutRaptorMaps17

2

©2025RaptorMaps.Allrightsreserved.

3

©2025RaptorMaps.Allrightsreserved.

Whydidweconductthissurvey?

WelcometotheinauguralStateofSolarRoboticsreport.Thedatathatweshareinthisreportcomefromasurveyinwhichweaskedsolardevelopers,builders,owners,andoperatorsavarietyofquestionsabouttheirusageandperceptionsoftechnologyonsolarfarms,withanemphasisonrobotics.

Weundertookthisprojectfortwomainreasons.First,wewantedtogeta

gaugeonhowpeopleareinteractingwithavailabletechnologiestoday.WiththecommercializationofAI,morebroadlyavailableroboticssolutions,andsmartergridtech,thelandscapeofsolartechnologyismuchdifferentthanitwasjustafewyearsago,sowewantedtogatherdataonthis.What

solutionsarepeopleusing?Whatvaluearetheygetting?Doesthisvalue

differifyouareanowneroranoperator?Howcomplexaresoftwarestacks?

Second,wewantedtounderstandhowthesolarindustryisprojectedto

respondtoanumberofinterestingmacroeconomicfactors–somemovingindifferentdirections–thatareactivelyreshapingthesolarindustrytoday.

DespitetheeliminationofUSfederaltaxincentives,itisprojectedthat$235billionwillbeinvestedinsolarproductionintheUnitedStatesby2030–

morethandoubletheexpectedcapitalexpendituresofallnaturalgasand

windcombined[1].Atthesametime,overthepast5years,laborsupply

withinthesolarindustry(+91%increaseinjobs)hasnotkeptpacewithsolarcapacitygrowth(+182%increaseinenergyoutput),strainingownersand

operatorsalike[2].Astheaveragesolarassetsizecontinuestogrow–solarfarmscompletedin2025arethreetimesaslarge,onaverage,asassetsbuiltpreviously[3]–howaresolarcompaniesmakingsenseofallofthesetrendsandforces?Whattechnologiesaretheyexcitedaboutinthefuture?What

barriersmightbepreventingthemfrominvestinginthosesolutions?Howdotheyseetheirbusinessevolvinginthenext3-5years?

Ifyouwouldliketoreachustodiscussanyofthefindings,we’dbehappytochat.Pleaseemailmark@foranyinquiries.

[1]“ThePowerIndustryMayNeedMoreThan750,000NewWorkersby2030.”GoldmanSachs,2025

[2]“2025GlobalSolarReport.”RaptorMaps,2025

[3]“MajorProjectsList.”SolarEnergyIndustryAssociates(SEIA),2025

4

©2025RaptorMaps.Allrightsreserved.

ANoteFromOurFounders

WhenwestartedRaptorMaps,weenvisionedaworldinwhichsolarfarmswereoperatingautonomously.Wheredatadidnotliveinsiloes,andwasfrictionlesslysharedasasitewasdesigned,builtandconnectedtothegrid.Weforesawanindustrythatwasoperatingatpeakpowerallofthetime,inordertoservicethegrowingenergydemandsofoursocietyandtocreatethemostresilientgridintheworld.Whilewearestillintheearlystagesofafullyautonomoussolarindustry,webelievewecanachievethatvisionthroughembracingscalabletechnologies–inparticularrobotics–thatcanautomatemanyofthedangerousandtime-consumingjobstobedoneonsolarfarms.

Inparticular,wehavebeenenergizedbywhatwehaveseeninthepastfewyears,wheretherehasbeenamassiveupswingintheadoptionofvariousformsofroboticstechnologies,fromautonomouslyoperatingdronesthatcanlivestreameventstooperatorsthousandsofmilesaway,tovegetationrobotsthatareproactivelyreducingfirerisk,torobotic‘dogs’onconstantpatrolofhighvoltageareas.

Thegoalofthissurveyistoputdatabehindwhatwehavebeenobservinganecdotally.Thankyoutoalloftheparticipantswhogavehonestanddetailedanswerstoourquestions.Wehopeyouareabletogainvaluableinsightsfromthisreport,andwelookforwardtonextyear'sfindings.

Sincerely,

NikhilandEddie

5

©2025RaptorMaps.Allrightsreserved.

KEYFINDING#1

Respondentsarereceivingavarietyofvaluesfromtheirroboticsdeploymentstoday

36%choseincreasingenergyproductionastheirsingleleadingvaluedrivertoday

32%chosereducinglaborcostsastheirsingleleadingvaluedrivertoday

14%chosemitigatingmajoroutageriskastheirsingleleadingvaluedrivertoday

KEYFINDING#2

Aroundhalfofrespondentssaythatroboticsarealreadypositively

affectingbusinessmarginstoday

51%thinkroboticsarepositively,orverypositivelyeffectingtheirmarginstoday

47%wereunsurewhateffectroboticsarehavingontheirmarginstoday

48%believethattheirroboticsdeploymentisacompetitiveadvantagefortheirbusinesstoday

READMOREONPAGE8READMOREONPAGE9

6

©2025RaptorMaps.Allrightsreserved.

KEYFINDING#3

Technologystacksonsolarfarmsaregrowingincomplexity

Respondentsuseanaverageof5differentsoftwaretoolsonaweeklybasis

60%reportedthattheircompanyhadaninternalteamofexpertsfocusedondataintegration

23%saytheydonotcurrentlyorganizeassetperformancedatainageospatialinterface

KEYFINDING#4

Thereisbroadagreementthat

roboticsadoptionwillgoupinthe

next

3-5years

77%thinktheircompany’sadoptionofroboticswillincreaseinthenext3-5years

5categoriesreceivedvotesforwhichtechnologywillhaveapositivebusinessimpactinthenext3-5years

79%saidAI/MLisoneofthetechnologiestheyaremostexcitedabout

READMOREONPAGE10READMOREONPAGE13

©2025RaptorMaps.Allrightsreserved.

7

50%

ManuallyoperateddronesAutonomouslyoperateddronesVegetationrobots

Cleaning/soilingrobotsGroundbasedrobots(onwheels) Groundbasedrobots(walking)Constructionrobots

Notusinganyrobots

Other

25%

ofrespondentsareworkingwithatleast3oftheroboticscategoriesinthecharttotheleft

ThisdatahelpsillustrateKeyFinding3-Technologystacksonsolarfarmsaregrowingmorecomplex.Asmoreroboticssolutionsareadopted,generatingmoredata,itwillbeincreasinglyimportanttohavestructuresfororganizingthisdatasoitisactionable.

Whatareautonomouslyoperateddrones?

Autonomousdronetechnologyusespre-programmedflightpathsandAI-

drivenanalyticstoinspectsolarfarmswithoutmanualpiloting.Thesedronescapturehigh-resolutionimageryandthermaldataacrosssolarfarms,

identifyingissueslikehotspots,vegetationencroachment,orstormdamage.

RoboticsUsageToday

Respondentsareusingavarietyofroboticssolutions

Underperformanceonsolarfarmshasincreased214%overthelast5years,withtheaveragesolarassetexperiencingannualizedrevenuelossof$5,270perMWdcin2024becauseof

underperformance[4].Furthermore,overthepast5years,thelaborsupply(+91%)hasnotbeenkeepingupwithsolarcapacitygrowth(+182%).Tocombatthesetrends,weknowthatsolaroperatorsareinvestingintechnologysolutions-butwhichones?Weshowthisdatahere.Inparticularwewerestruckbythediversityofroboticssolutionsthatpeopleareworkingwithtoday,spanningtechnologiesthathavebeencommerciallyavailableforsometime(manuallyoperateddrones)andbrandnewsolutions(vegetationrobots,autonomouslyoperateddrones).

ofrespondentsareworkingwithatleast2oftheroboticscategoriesinthecharttotheleft

Today,whichtypesofroboticsareyouutilizingacrossanyofyoursolarsites?(Selectallthatapply)

50

010203040%ofRespondents

[4]“2025GlobalSolarReport.”RaptorMaps,2025

8

©2025RaptorMaps.Allrightsreserved.

ValueDriversofRobotics

Respondentsaresplitonthelargestvaluedriverofroboticstoday

Dataintheprevioussectionestablishedthatoursurveyrespondentsareactivelyusingarangeofroboticssolutionstoday.Inthissection,wediveintothevaluethattheyaregettingfromthoserobotics.Weaskedrespondentstoisolatethesinglebiggestvaluedrivertheyarederiving(shownbelow),whetherroboticsareincreasingthemarginsoftheirbusiness,andiftheyseetheir

roboticsdeploymentasacompetitiveadvantage(followingpage).

Today,whereareyouseeingthemostvalueoutofyourrobotics?(Choose1option)

Automationcanhaveanarrayofbenefitsforsolarassetownersandoperators.Thehighervelocityofdataenabledbyroboticssolutionshelpsfieldteamsfind,diagnose,andremediateissuesmorerapidly.Thismakesdata

acquisitioncostslower,asrobotscaninspectvastareasofsolarfarms,oftenwithgreaterspeedandprecisionthanhumans.Robotsarealsoinspectingsolarfarmsingreaterdeptheachyear.Forexample,RaptorMaps’SentrySolution–ourroboticsandAIoffering–caninspectarangeofcivil,environmental,and

physicalconditionsonasolarsite.

MitigatingMajorOutageRisk

14%

IncreasingEnergyProductionReducingLaborCost

36%32%

EnhancingSafety

6%

Supporting

TimelyCOD

7%

Other

5%

9

©2025RaptorMaps.Allrightsreserved.

ValueDriversofRobotics

51%

ofrespondentsbelievethatroboticsisincreasingthemarginsoftheirbusiness

48%

ofrespondentsbelievethatroboticsis

givingtheirbusinessacompetitiveadvantage

Software

Softwarestacksonsolarfarmsaregrowingincreasinglycomplex

Inadditiontoroboticsusage,wealsowantedtogetabettersenseofourrespondent’sunderlyingsoftwarestack.InparticularwewantedtolearnhowtheywereorganizingandintegratingtheirdataasmoreofitbecomesavailablewithroboticsandincreasinglycomplexSCADA/DASsystemsunderlyingeverythingonasolarfarm.

Howdoyoucurrentlyintegrateapplicationssothatdataisavailablefrommultiplesourcesacrossaseamlessworkflow?

Wehaveaninternalteamofintegrationexperts

Wepayvendorstoconfigureintegrations

Wedon'tcurrentlydothis

010203040506070

%ofRespondents

79%

Ofrespondentsindicatedthattheywereexcitedabout

ArtificialIntelligenceandMachineLearningfordata

integrationwhenaskedaboutfuturetechnologiestheythinkwillhaveapositiveimpactfortheirbusiness

With70%ofrespondentsindicatingthattheyworkforacompanythatemploysaninternalteamofdataintegrationexperts,itisclearthattheincreasingcomplexityofdataunderlyingsolarfarmsisanemerging

areaofimportanceintheindustry.Giventhiscomplexity,itis

unsurprisingtoseesomuchenthusiasmforAIasatooltohelpmakesenseoftheincreasingamountsofdatabeinggenerated.

5.07

Theaveragenumberofdifferent

softwaretoolsusedonaweekly

basisonasolarfarm

23%

Ofrespondentssaidthattheydonot

currentlyorganizeassetperformance

datainageospatialinterface

Whatisageospatialinterface?Ageospatialinterface,whichis

sometimesreferredtoasa‘digitaltwin,’isaninteractivemap-basedplatform

thatvisualizesdataonasolarsitein

detail.Thisinterfaceisoften

constructedusingthe‘as-built’ofasolarfarm,andcanbeenrichedwith

additionaldatalayersovertime.

Ageospatialinterfaceshowingdifferentformsoferosiononasolarfarm

10

©2025RaptorMaps.Allrightsreserved.

11

©2025RaptorMaps.Allrightsreserved.

BarrierstoInvestment

Therearestillmeaningfulbarrierspreventingscaledinvestmentintoroboticssolutions

Wealsofeltitwasimportanttounderstandwhatfactorsmaybepreventingmorescaledinvestmentintorobotics.Wedecidedtocenterourquestionsontwospecifictopics:financialbarriersandoperationalbarriers.Interestingly,evenamongstagroupofrespondentswhoalreadyareusingrobotics,and,aswewillshowlater,forecastthattheywillbeinvestingmoreinthenear

future,theynotedthatbothbarriersarestillrelativelysignificanttoday.

Onascaleof1to5,howbigofabarrieriscost/

operationsinyourinvestmentdecisionwhenconsideringanewtechnology?

%ofRespondents

40

30

20

10

0

.Cost●Operations

12345

SmallerBarrierBiggerbarrier

Whenrespondentsareconsideringwhethertoinvestinnewtechnologies,meaningfulbarriersstillexistbothoperationallyandfinancially.Costappearstobeaslightlybiggerbarrierthanoperations,withroughlyaquarterofrespondentsrankingita5.

Whatarethemostsignificantoperationalbarrierspreventingyourcompanyfrominvestinginnewroboticssolutions?

(Selectallthatapply)

LackofskilledpersonneltooperatenewtechIntegrationchallengeswithexistingworkflows Difficultyprovingoperationalbenefits TechnicalmaturityandreliabilityNooperationalbarriers

01020304050%ofRespondents

Whatarethemostsignificantfinancialbarrierspreventingyourcompanyfrominvestinginnewroboticssolutions?

HighupfrontCapExUncertainROI

LimitedbudgetfornewtechStakeholdersdon'tsupportnewtech

Nofinancialbarriers

(Selectallthatapply)

010203040506070%ofRespondents

Weweresurprisedtoseerespondentscite1HighupfrontCapEx’asfrequentlyastheydidgivenhowrelativelyinexpensivemostroboticshardwareiswhencomparedwithother

capitalexpendituresonasolarfarm.Theaveragecostoftheroboticshardwarecurrentlybeingusedforoperationormaintenanceactivityatsolarfarmsislessthanacentperwatt(forsites>15MWinsize).

12

©2025RaptorMaps.Allrightsreserved.

O&Mvs.AssetOwner

Barrierstoroboticsinvestmentandleadingdriverofvaluedifferedacrosscompanytype,butmostrespondentsbelievetheywillinvestmoreinroboticsinthenextthreetofiveyears.

Whenanalyzingresponsesbycompanytype,wenoticedanotabledivergencebetweenrespondentsfromassetownersandO&Mproviders.Whilebothexpecttoincreaseinvestmentinroboticsoverthenext3-5years,therearenotabledifferencesinwhy.56%ofO&Mrespondentscitedreducinglaborcostsastheleadingvaluedriverwhile60%ofassetownerrespondentschose

increasingpowerproduction.

Costreductionandenergyproduction

improvementswerethetwomostselected“leadingvaluedrivers”forrobotics:

%ofRespondents

100

80

60

40

20

0

●IncreasingPowerProduction

●ReducingLaborCosts

●MitigatingMajorOutageRisks

O&MAssetOwner

O&Mrespondentsassignedhigher

significancescorestobothbarrierstoadoptingroboticswhencomparedwith

assetowners:

Significanceofbarriertoinvestment

(scaleof1-5)

AssetOwner

O&M

2.92.7

43.6

FinancialBarriers

OperationalBarriers

BothO&MsandAssetOwnersbelievetheywillinvestinmoreroboticsinthenext3-5years,withnorespondentsnotingasignificantdecrease:

DecreaseSignificantly

DecreaseModerately

Unsure

IncreaseModerately

IncreaseSignificantly

O&M●AssetOwner

010203040506070

%ofRespondents

13

©2025RaptorMaps.Allrightsreserved.

FutureTrends

Respondentsarebullishonthefutureofrobotics

Despitepoliticalandmacroeconomicheadwindsdarkeningthefinancialpictureofdevelopingsolarprojects,itisstillprojectedthatsolarwillseesignificantyear-over-yeargrowththroughat

least2030.Tounderstandhowrespondentswerethinkingaboutthisgrowth,weaskedthemabouthowtheysawtheirbusinesseschangingoverthenext3-5years.Specifically,wewantedto

knowwhattechnologiestheywereexcitedaboutonthehorizon,andwhatwastopofmindwhenitcametoactionstheywanttoautomate.Wewerefascinatedwithhowdiverseresponseswereinthiscategory.Whenweaskedwhichtechnologiesaremostexcitingfortheirpotentialpositiveimpactoverthenext3-5years,therewere5differentcategoriesoftechnologiesthatreceivedatleast10votes(roughly20%ofrespondents).Thissignifiestousthatwemaybeonthecuspofatrueparadigmshiftinhowsolarfarmsoperateasnewtechnologiescommercializeandmature.

%ofRespondents

BasedonthepercentageofMWinyourcompany’sportfoliothatroboticssolutionsaredeployedontoday,howdoyouanticipatethatnumberchangingoverthenext3-5years?

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

GreatlydecreaseDecreaseStayrelativelyflatIncreaseGreatlyincrease

Lookingatthenext3-5years,whichtechnology(s)areyoumostexcitedaboutfortheirpotentialpositiveimpactonyourbusiness?(Selectallthatapply)

AIandMachineLearningforDataIntegration

AutonomouslyOperatedDrones

NewSolarCellTechnology

AdvancedBatteryStorage

Mobile,GroundBasedRobots

PhysicallyMountedRobots(i.eDe-Soiling)

020406080

%ofRespondents

OndataintegrationwithAI

FutureAutomation

AIandtimeconsumingtasksaretopofmindforfutureautomation

Wealsoaskedparticipantsanopenendedquestionaboutwhattheyaren’tautomatingtoday,butthattheyaremostexcitedtoautomateinthefuture.Wegotvariedresponseshere,buttwothemesstoodout:(1)DataintegrationusingAI&(2)Automatinganarrayoftimeconsuming,non-technicaltasks.We’velistedaselectionofquotesfromsurveyrespondentsbelow.

Anautomatic,AIdrivenfaultdetectionsystemthathelpsidentifytheproblem,developsaccuratediagnoses,andthenprovidesastep-by-stepguidetoresolveitwouldbeagamechanger.

WearelookingintowaystouseAItobeabletodirectworkloadandeventmanagementmorerapidlyandautonomously.

IwanttouseAItohelptranslateouras-builtschematicsintoadatabasethatallowsmetoeasilyviewwhatandhowthesiteissetup,andbeabletolayerinspectiondataintothisdigitally.Likeadigitaltwin.

Onautomatingtimeconsumingtasks

Acrossourportfolio,itwouldbehugelyvaluableiftherewasatrulyreliableproductoutthereforroboticvegmanagement.That’sahugeburdenforourorganizationcurrently.

Assessingcivilconditionsissomethingweareactivelylookingtoautomate.

Duringcapacitytesting,doingQA/QCworktofindsystemissuesthatcouldresultinmajordowntimeordelaystoCODwouldbehelpful.

14

©2025RaptorMaps.Allrightsreserved.

15

©2025RaptorMaps.Allrightsreserved.

Conclusion

ThefindingsfromourinauguralStateofSolarRoboticsReportpointtoanindustryatacrossroads.Respondentsareawareof,andstartingtoadopt

advancedroboticstechnologies,believestronglythattheywillbeincreasinglyintegratedinsolaroperationsinthefuture,butstillarenotfullyconvincedthatroboticshavepositiveROIfortheirbusinessestoday.

Fromamacroperspective,thescaleofloomingchallenges–andopportunities–issubstantial.TheU.S.willrequireanadditional300,000jobsinsolar

manufacturing,constructionandoperationsby2030.Withdataalreadyindicatingthatlaborshortagesarethelargestsourceofsolarprojectdelays–87%ofenergyemployerssayitiseithersomewhatorverydifficulttofindqualifiedlabor–itisnotsurprisingthattheheadofresearchatGoldmanSachs’

sustainabilitypracticesaidthat“howcompaniestackletheselaborshortagescoulddefinenewcompetitiveadvantages”inthesolarindustry[5].

Thedatainthisreportshowthatmanyintheindustryarealreadyadaptingtothesetrends,notjusttobridgethelaborgap,butalsotoimproveperformanceandmargins.Whilerespondentsaredividedonwhetherthegreatestvalueofroboticsliesinreducinglaborcostsorincreasingenergyproduction,we

believetheunderlyingmessageisconsistent:automationisincreasinglyintegraltoachievingoperationalefficiency.

Yet,barriersremain.UnprovenROIwasthemostfrequentlycitedobstacletofurtherinvestment,ev