SunPower announced it has acquired Greenbotics, a Calif.-based company that offers panel cleaning products and services for large-scale solar power plants.
The Greenbotics acquisition is a cash transaction that is accretive to SunPower’s results.
The acquisition will expand SunPower’s energy services portfolio for global customers with the SunPower Oasis Power Plant product, especially in markets with challenging dirt and dust environments, the company said.
SunPower will utilize the robotic technology and the Greenbotics team in conjunction with other product development and large-scale solar field installation projects. Greenbotics has expertise in optimizing the performance of solar power plants through a cost-effective cleaning process.
The CleanFleet robots and service offering from Greenbotics has been used to wash hundreds of megawatts of systems in the Southwest and Western U.S.
The technology benefits customers in markets like the Western U.S., the Middle East and Chile as dust and debris is a challenge and water is in shorter supply.
The robots can be configured for use with a variety of solar panels and mounting types, including fixed-tilt arrays and single-axis trackers and offer a less costly and greener alternative to manual cleaning methods, pressure washers and sprayer trucks, the company said.
The robots use under a half a cup of water to clean each panel, which is approximately 90 percent less than traditional cleaning methods, making this solution optimum for solar systems built in desert conditions.
“SunPower’s acquisition of Greenbotics and its CleanFleet robots will allow us to further maximize the proven system performance of our high efficiency, most reliable solar panels, which is critical to a project’s economics and levelized cost of electricity,” said Tom Werner, SunPower president and CEO.
“Customers in markets such as the Western U.S., the Middle East and Chile will especially benefit, as dust and debris is a challenge and water is in shorter supply. We are very pleased to add the valuable services offered by Greenbotics to our energy services offerings,” Werner added.
The CleanFleet robots can be tailored specifically for each power plant to optimize a project’s cleaning schedule.