Terabase energyThe company that offers digital and automation solutions for solar power plants is launching Terafab, an automated, digital field factory for solar construction.
Terafab says it uses a modern factory approach, which doubles installation productivity compared to traditional methods. The Terafab system combines a digital duplicate of the project site, advanced supply chain and warehouse management systems, an on-site wireless digital command center, an automated field-use assembly line and specialized assembly booths for seamless 24/7 operations.
The company says the main benefits of Terafab are as follows:
- Faster construction: Efficient, 24/7 operation and modularity enable quick ramps and higher solar field construction speeds, reducing project timelines;
- Improved worker health and safety: Terafab eliminates the physical safety risk of construction workers lifting solar panels and steel structures by leveraging automation on a climate-controlled assembly line;
- Labor shortage relief: Terafab doubles labor productivity, solving the current labor shortage in the solar industry;
- Lower construction costs: Terafab’s installation efficiency and time savings lower total project costs, allowing for lower flat energy costs;
- Scalability: The modular structure can be duplicated and deployed quickly.
“We successfully field tested Terafab last year by building 10 MW of a 400 MW plant in Texas,” says Matt Campbell, CEO and co-founder of Terabase Energy. “(This) launch is the next step forward in rapid commercial scale.”
“Our partnership with Terabase not only brings advanced mounting technology to our next-generation Series 7 solar module, but also enables a closed-loop packaging recycling system,” adds Nick Strevel, Product Director, First Solar.
Terabase recently opened a Terafab manufacturing facility in Woodland, California — “a factory for making factories,” the company says. The Woodland facility is currently producing the first gigawatt of Terafab assembly lines with a capacity of over 10 GW Terafabs per year.
The Terafab system will be put into commercial use in several projects from the beginning of this year.
