BuiltWorlds member Mortenson Construction’s Solar Energy Team announced last month that it has partnered with Orteco, an Italian-based OEM, to develop robotic equipment to advance the construction of solar energy installations. The new GPS-enabled pile distribution system can operate autonomously to precisely position piles across utility-scale solar sites during construction.
The new autonomous pile distribution system allows Mortenson to redirect its workforce to other critical tasks while expediting the completion of the initial phases of a solar energy project. The machine can free up to 80% of the craft workforce traditionally required to survey and mark pile distribution points across a utility-scale solar site and deliver piles to each location. As the project workforce focuses on subsequent tasks, the autonomous pile distribution system, which holds up to 100 steel piles at a time, can begin to place piles in exact positions in preparation for the pile driving process.
Mortenson is also a leader in using semi-automated pile driving technology in solar energy construction, a process that requires approximately 50% of the workforce compared to traditional pile driving methods common in the industry today.
When used together, the autonomous pile distribution system and semi-automated pile driving machines help reduce cost and risk of injuries, free much-needed workers for other critical construction tasks, and decreases the overall time of delivering solar installations.
Mortenson has been on a transformational journey for several years now, committed to developing and utilizing new technologies and processes once thought to be impossible, to build new renewable energy projects faster, safer, and more cost effectively. The autonomous pile distribution system is a second-generation design of the technology advancements Mortenson is helping to create to meet these goals.
Both the autonomous pile distribution system and semi-automated pile driving machine are in-use on current Mortenson projects in the U.S.
This partnership is just one of many exciting things currently happening in the sector. All BuiltWorlds members are invited to have a look at the latest technology adoption trends in our recently-released Advanced Machinery & Equipment Benchmarking Report below!
READ THE BENCHMARKING REPORT HERE
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